Last month, I had the honor of speaking at TEDxTampa about a topic transforming the future of dentistry: how artificial intelligence is ushering in a new era of oral healthcare. A new era that is defined by abundance, trust, and outcomes.

Here are a few reflections I shared during the talk and why I believe we’re just getting started.

Abundance

For decades, dentistry has been shaped by scarcity. Scarcity of time, expertise, and access. But AI changes that. 

Overjet’s AI analyzes millions of X-rays to detect bone loss, decay, and infections with  precision and consistency that never gets tired. Now, every dentist, no matter where they are in the world, can now have clinical insights of the very best dentists. Every patient can finally see what their provider sees and understand why care is needed. AI doesn’t stop at x-rays. It is also being used to reduce administrative tasks across the revenue cycle like verifying insurance. Giving valuable time back to front office teams.

One of our partners said it best “AI gave us back time –not just for our clinicians, but for our patients” 

Abundance is about breaking the constraints of geography, staffing, and time. No more admin staff shortages, no more burnout from repetitive tasks, and no more barriers to care. Just a world where every clinician has the tools to be the best version of themselves, every patient gets the care they deserve, and teams get to do what they do best: listen, care, and heal.

Trust

Trust is the foundation of healthcare, but it’s also the most fragile. Providers don’t trust insurers, insurers question provider documentation, and patients are stuck in the middle. In a survey of thousands of patients, only 55% said they fully understood why treatment was recommended. That uncertainty erodes trust.

But when a dentist clearly shows a patient why they need treatment, using AI to visualize and explain their diagnosis, clarity follows. One of the most powerful moments for our customers is when a patient looks at their X-rays and says, “I finally understand why I need this treatment.” That’s where trust begins.

We don’t just need to rebuild trust between patients and providers—we need to restore it between payers and providers too. That’s why we created the Dental Clarity Network: to reduce administrative overhead, improve reimbursement transparency, and speed up payment by getting everyone on the same page.

Because trust is built on clarity. When patients see what their dentist sees, and payers and providers work from the same source of truth.

Outcomes

Finally, let’s face it, patients don’t want to go to the dentist. They want a healthy mouth, and they want to stay healthy. It’s time to shift the conversation from procedures to outcomes.

Your mouth isn’t separate from the rest of your body—it’s the gateway to it. Oral health is deeply connected to overall health, impacting everything from diabetes and heart disease to pregnancy outcomes. The stakes couldn’t be higher.

Outcomes move the focus from what we do to how much healthier patients actually become.

That’s why Overjet created the AI-powered Oral Health Score—to start measuring real progress over time, across entire populations. It helps us close the gap between diagnosis and results so we can build a future that’s measurable, meaningful, and centered on true health outcomes.

The Future

So what’s next? We’re standing at the edge of a transformation. Healthcare is no longer limited by what one person can see or do. With AI, we can create abundance for the underserved, rebuild trust where there was skepticism, and drive outcomes that once felt out of reach.

This isn’t just about making dentistry more efficient—it’s about building a system that’s smarter, more connected, and more human, powered by AI.

Watch the full talk here: TEDxTampa: The New Era of Oral Healthcare