Faculty and Staff, Research

ASOD paper touts benefits of diagnostic imaging

Donald Tyndall, DDS, MPHS, PhD, was a co-author of a recent paper published in JADA.

An Adams School of Dentistry faculty member and an ASOD alumnus were recently featured in the Journal of the American Dental Association for their work on “Surveying the landscape of diagnostic imaging in dentistry’s future.” Longtime ASOD faculty member Donald Tyndall, DDS, MSPH, PhD, and Jeffery B. Price, DDS, MS, an ASOD alum, were coauthors of the paper, along with University of Minnesota’s and Laurence Gaalaas, DDS, MS. Their paper was featured in the most recent edition of the journal.

The paper focused on four emerging technologies that are changing the landscape of dentistry today, including:

  • Artificial intelligence and deep learning
  • Dental magnetic resonance imaging
  • Stationary intraoral tomosynthesis
  • Second-generation cone-beam computed tomography based on multisource and multispectral X-ray sources

“All four authors in combination have been involved in all four of the emerging technologies of promise through teaching and research and saw the need to communicate these technologies to the broader dental audience,” Tyndall said.

The researchers found that the four technologies have the potential to improve imaging diagnostics in dentistry, which could improve patient care and outcomes, including overall patient satisfaction.

“Many dental historians say that the ‘Golden Age of Dentistry’ was in the 1950s and 1960s. Due to the technologies described in this article, AI/AuI, dental MRI, stationary intraoral tomography and second generation dental cone beam CT, the ‘Golden Age of Dentistry’ is still yet to be!” Price said.

The researchers touted the benefits of developing new imaging technologies and continuing to move that needle forward, ultimately improving diagnostic accuracy and clinical efficiency.