Overjet to Break Down Current Gaps and Reimagine Dental Practices with Future-Fit AI

Undoubtedly, the healthcare sphere has been on meteoric rise for recent years, especially with the advent of the “black swan” COVID-19 pandemic – and is expected to continue to thrive in the future. Obviously, healthcare spending has rocketed nationally and globally, which amplified its importance as a pivotal sector of the economy. Therefore, more and more companies are established, leveraging advanced technologies to optimize healthcare and improve human health.

Catching up with this, Overjet has been founded in 2018 by PhDs from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and dentists from Harvard School of Dental Medicine and incubated at the Harvard Innovation Labs. Overjet has brought together a large team with extensive expertise in artificial intelligence, dentistry, and insurance, as well as strong technological backgrounds. This team is highly experienced and has a deep understanding of these domains.

From Personal Confusion to “Answer” for Dental Practice Gaps

With its deep expertise in dentistry and advanced engineering, it’s no wonder that Overjet emerges as the global leader in dental artificial intelligence. Yet, before jumping into the “conclusion”, let’s find out the big ‘WHY’ behind their founding.

First, let’s introduce Wardah Inam – CEO of Overjet. She has played a key role in driving the company’s growth and success. Dr. Inam received her Ph.D. from MIT and developed AI-powered technology for autonomous microgrids as part of her research. She has been named one of Incisal Edge’s Top 32 Most Influential People in Dentistry, in recognition of Dr. Inam’s continued leadership in moving the dental industry forward and contributions in pioneering transformational AI technologies that advance patient care.

Talking with her about the idea of Overjet started, she shared her personal experience: “I went to my dentist and the diagnosis for my dental issue was very different from the diagnosis that I had received previously from another dentist.”

“So as a patient, I didn’t know which diagnosis I should trust more. It caused a lot of confusion and caught me interested in dentistry.” She continued, “I then collected my x-rays and started looking into how one interprets x-rays to diagnose particular dental disease. I also found that the treatment plan recommended to me was very expensive than the treatment option suggested to me by another dentist.”

“This confusion just somehow made me interested enough in dentistry. I realized that there were a lot of ways that technology could help and improve dental care and that’s how the idea of Overjet came and it’s been a great ride for the last two years.” And here came the “aha” moment where Overjet was born out of.

On top of that, Overjet is a company that has created a platform using artificial intelligence to analyze dental data and improve the quality of dental care while also reducing costs. Its technology, which includes computer vision and machine learning algorithms, allows dental providers and payers to deliver better patient care.

With its mission to improve oral health for all, Overjet has brought together a highly skilled and experienced team with expertise in AI, dentistry, and insurance. Their combination of in-depth knowledge of dentistry and advanced engineering allows them to accurately detect dental issues and incorporate actionable insights into systems and processes to improve communication and care between payers, providers, and patients.

Nowadays, the quality of patient care is being negatively affected by the lack of standardization and data-driven decision making. It is common for patients to receive different diagnoses from different dentists, leading to variations in the quality of care. This can have negative impacts on provider revenues, increase complexity and costs for payers, and decrease patient trust. So, Inam has realized that it’s time to do something to improve health. 

“I think that now is the time to utilize this digital information and take advantage of advancements in AI and computer vision to build AI models and advanced algorithms that automatically analyze patient data and provide tools for better decision-making. This approach will drastically change how dentistry is practiced” said by Inam.

Besides, one of the major problems facing dental practices today is the inconsistency, of care, particularly in terms of diagnosis and treatment plans. These differences in patient care can lead to a lack of trust and unnecessary costs within the healthcare industry. When patients do not trust their doctors, they may refuse recommended treatments. This can lead to untreated conditions, such as periodontal disease, which can result in further complications for patients and decreased revenue for dental offices. Overjet creates solutions to address practical problems in dentistry by identifying how AI can support patient care to solve some of the ongoing issues.

Mission Driven Forward With “One-Team” Spirit

To the best of my knowledge, patients today are quite familiar with technology and want their dental practices to be convenient, efficient, and use time-saving innovations. They expect electronic health records, digital x-rays, and the ability to confirm appointments via text message. These are just a few examples of the technological advancements that patients now expect from their dental practices.

Consequently, the company uses artificial intelligence to analyze clinical data and improve the quality of dental care. The team at Overjet has been working on technology that can analyze x-rays, identify dental issues, and suggest necessary treatments, which can benefit organizations that provide dental care and help dentists provide better care to their patients.

One of the key benefits of this technology is its ability to standardize diagnoses and treatment recommendations. By using a data-driven approach, Overjet’s technology can help eliminate inconsistencies and variations in care that can occur when different dentists interpret x-rays and make diagnoses. This can lead to more accurate and consistent care, which can improve patient outcomes and reduce costs.

Moreover, Overjet’s AI models deploy a range of advanced techniques, including data science, deep learning, computer vision, natural language processing, and statistical modeling, to analyze diverse data sets in multiple formats. The company has developed innovative technology for detecting and measuring dental issues like bone loss, cavities, and decay, which helps clinicians and improves patient outcomes.

“Dental insurers spend millions of dollars to analyze claims manually – we automate this process for them. This automatic analysis makes the review consistent and decreases the cost for payers. For dental groups, they use our platform to ensure standardization of care across their practices and identify any missed revenue opportunities using our dashboard,” Inam stated.

With what the company has been bringing, it is no surprise that Overjet has raised a total of $77.4M in funding over 3 rounds. Their last Series B funding round of $42.5M in December 2021 is led by General Catalyst and Insight Partners. AI has already had a great impact in businesses and medicine, and dentistry is no different. AI is the future of dentistry, and Overjet has been a big player in the field.

Not Just Applying AI, but Acquiring the Highest Level of Comprehensive Care

In fact, Overjet’s dental AI technology gives dentists and insurance providers the ability to provide top-quality patient care. The AI software incorporates dentists’ expertise in identifying and treating dental issues into reliable, unbiased tools that help with decision making. Overjet has been excited to see the dental industry quickly adopt AI to improve consistency, provide evidence-based care, and enhance patient outcomes.

“AI-assisted dentistry adds a layer of data to assist doctors with their clinical decision-making,” said Teresa Dolan, DDS, Overjet’s Chief Dental Officer. “The recent FDA (Food and Drug Administration) clearance for calculus detection helps clinicians be proactive in preventative care. Our mission is to improve oral health for all.”

Furthermore, Overjet continues to raise the bar for optimal patient health. It dedicated to adopted artificial intelligence as a way to efficiently process and analyze patient records to provide better care. The AI system integrates with digital imaging and practice management systems to aid in the analysis of previous patient appointments.

One of the ways that the AI system does this is by integrating with digital imaging and practice management systems. By linking the patient’s records and previous appointments, the AI can analyze the patient’s history and identify patterns or trends that may not be immediately apparent. This can help dentists and other dental providers make more informed decisions about a patient’s care, which can ultimately lead to better outcomes.

In addition, by using AI to analyze patient records, Overjet’s technology can help identify potential issues before they become severe, which can help prevent the need for more invasive or costly treatments. For example, the AI system can analyze the patient’s x-rays and detect early signs of cavities or gum disease, which can help the dentist provide preventative care before the condition worsens.

Notably, the health supernova is focused on improving the dental care experience for both patients and providers by implementing a data-driven and standardized approach. This will result in better quality and accessibility of care, as well as increased efficiency and profitability for payers and providers. The goal is to create a future in which dentists are empowered by technology and supported by payers to deliver patient-centered care of the highest caliber.

It turns out to be a matter of fact that many partners have been very pleased with Overjet for not only helping elevate patient care but also enhancing dentists’ training and experience with the latest technology. The AI system used by Overjet also helps dentists by analyzing patient records from previous appointments and allowing for easy comparison of changes over time. Additionally, insurance companies may be more likely to approve claims when they are supported by analysis from the AI system.

“Our goal is to provide our patients with the highest level of comprehensive care, and Overjet’s AI gives our team another tool to aid them in accurate and consistent diagnosis,” said Ryan Holmes, DDS, Director of Dental Affairs at Bright Direction Dental.

Unlocking True Beauty behind Overjet’s Dental Technology

Let’s take a close look over technology’s importance of Overjet. Having been researched and developed over a long period of time, Overjet’s technology incorporates a deep understanding of disease identification and progression at the level of a dentist, and is able to provide precise, unbiased, and reproducible tools for improved decision-making. Overjet’s technology assists in the reading and interpretation of digital information such as radiographs, photos, scans, biomarkers, and medical history. It utilizes algorithms and machine learning to make diagnostic inferences and suggest patient-specific treatment options.

More significantly, using computer vision and deep learning models that have been trained on large amounts of radiographic images, Overjet is able to accurately assess various dental conditions such as bone loss and caries, as well as provide recommendations for restorative treatment. Both practitioners and payer organizations have access to annotated images and analytics for entire datasets through an interactive dashboard, which helps to inform patients and improve decision-making.

The Overjet software includes dashboards that can be used by each provider. For example, a hygienist can prepare a report for his or her entire day. For each of the patients, it will say whether the patient may be due for bitewings or needs periodontal charting. It identifies potential periodontal and restorative opportunities, based on the findings of the 18-month x-ray review and the information in the practice management system.

Brandon J. Ryff, DDS, has said: “Patients are impressed, but equally, I think they’re appreciative. The patients actually say thank you for investing in this technology. Patients see that we care enough to invest in their health. It’s a great feeling and a great way to gain lifelong patients.”

“We all miss stuff. We do. And sometimes it’s not even that we missed something, but it’s that maybe we underestimated the extent of decay—this software outlines the potential area of concern, which helps guide the treatment planning process so we can make the best recommendations to our patients.” He added.

As a result, Overjet has been named one of North America’s Top A.I. Companies Shaping the Future on the annual Forbes AI 50 list, a definitive ranking of the most promising artificial intelligence companies in the U.S.

What’s more, Overjet achieves HITRUST Certification to Deliver the Highest Standards of Security to its customers. “This certification demonstrates that our information risk management and compliance policies are at the forefront of the industry. It also demonstrates our commitment to providing our customers with the greatest security standards.” Inam said.

Bottom Lines

Overall, Overjet is striving to create a future in which dentists are empowered by technology and supported by payers to deliver high-quality patient-centered care. Overjet is also revolutionizing dental care with its AI-powered platform for analyzing dental data and improving patient care.

It is my hope that Overjet will continue to be a leader in the use of artificial intelligence in the dental industry, improving the quality of care for patients while also reducing costs. I envision a future in which dentists are empowered by technology and supported by payers to deliver high-quality, patient-centered care. I believe Overjet’s goal to improve oral health for all and to positively impact the healthcare industry will be achieved more successfully.