For many patients, when we first utilize our 3D impression scanner, relieving them from the fear of gagging on a cold, slimy, often repugnant tasting impression, they can’t believe that something like that is possible. I admit to enjoying their satisfaction and even glee at the digital conveniences modern dentistry has to offer. I’ve found myself even remarking as a matter of habit, “the future is now.”

There is a lot to get excited about in modern dentistry. Technology has already given us the ability to filter or x-ray images to significantly reduce the dose of radiation required while offering contrast and clarity and even diagnostic filters to help us detect decay. 3D CBCT scans are giving us unparalleled clarity in revealing pathologies that are often obscured by the structural overlap inherent in 2D x-rays. We can see hard tissues in the TMJ’s with simple scans in many general practitioner offices. We can even see airways and offer reliable risk assessments for truly dangerous, chronic problems like obstructive sleep apnea. And we are already seeing the advent of artificial intelligence in radiographic diagnosis.
 
Technology is not only revolutionizing diagnotics, surgery and restorative dentistry can be planned and carried out, giving us a startling ability to visualize final treatment outcomes before any drilling even starts. Printed and milled crowns and fillings! Fully guided implant placement with robotic armamentarium. Same day transitions from hopeless teeth to implant retained dentures that improve form, function, and overall physical health!

On occasion, when introduced to the impressive array of technological advancements in dentistry, patients will ask me if I fear for my future. At the moment, I feel what Tolkien meant when he wrote about “the deep breath before the plunge.” If all I have to offer is impersonal, cold, machinations for patients seeking dental care, then I ought to be afraid. Perhaps I’m afflicted with some strange optimism. But I am not concerned.

Even if a machine can carry out dentistry without a human touch, I don’t think our species will transcend the innate desire for human interaction. During COVID shutdowns and mandates that encouraged people to stay home, I found a number of people who so rarely experienced in-person interactions with anyone that they came to anticipate their routine check up.

Studies around the world conclude that our mental health suffers when our only window to interact with the world is through a screen. Our species has evolved over millions of years to depend on each other. For the first 100,000 years of our species existence, the average life expectancy was abysmal. Elders in a tribe were those who managed to reach twenty years old. Our teeth have only been required to reach 80 years old for the average human in the last hundred years. Science and technology are helping us live longer and live better in our old age. Wisdom teeth are often called our “eighteen year old molars” because they tend to erupt around that age—when our ancestors needed to replace decayed and broken teeth that preceded them. They gave the human that lived that long something to help them chew their coarse diet. But they didn’t usually need them long.

Today, humans are living longer and keeping their teeth longer and in good health. Technology is the key to creating longevity and to maintaining it. But all of this will not replace the fact that we need each other more. Anxiety and depression are national health emergencies for children and teens. We’re disconnected physically and the digital relationships we have adopted as surrogates leave us dissatisfied and often harmed. The world I see thriving is one where human relationships are valued and cultivated.

I hope if you ask one of my team members what are the pillars of my practice philosophy, the first thing they will tell you, “Relationships.” That is what we value most with our patients. That is what our species needs. That is why I think the future is bright! Relationship-based health care augmented by the power of technology has the power to transform our physical health in amazing ways. Should fate see to it, I expect to be around to be a part of it.