Development of an artificial intelligence platform to improve compliance in periodontal maintenance patients: A proof‐of‐concept study

An artificial intelligence model (AI) was developed to improve periodontal maintenance compliance. Compliance with periodontal maintenance in patients decreases dramatically after 1 year. This is a proof-of-concept study using an AI-based smartphone application (app) that communicates individualized periodontal disease risk awareness messages that were educational and motivational to effect a behavioral change in hopes of improving compliance. Measurements of disease stability/instability, such as gum inflammation, bleeding, bone loss, and assessment of brushing effectiveness, were captured at baseline and at subsequent office visits every 3 months for a total of 6 months. Subjective patient information was captured via in-office interviews to supplement clinical data and provide the AI model with multimodal data points. Patient-reported outcome surveys were developed via cognitive interviews. Results showed improvements in brushing effectiveness, which translated to less gum bleeding and inflammation. Other clinical measurements of disease activity showed no change, which could translate to a lack of disease progression. Patient-reported outcome development revealed that most of the subjects found the interaction with the app to be positive and beneficial. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates a novel approach using an AI-based smartphone app to be worthy of further investigation on efficacy and possibly defines an objective measure of patient compliance.