Page 35 - Dentistry Magazine 2021

Nurses or doctors upload photos of the injury, and a dentist examines the image and determines whether it requires immediate attention. Huang hopes that, once the app proves successful in emergency rooms, he and his team can expand its presence into schools, as well. “Based on research and clinical experience, the injury usually happens at school or at home,” he explained. “The first witness would be a parent or a teacher, so using the app could help them know whether they need to be worried.”
Eventually, Huang will continue the app’s development
in conjunction with artificial intelligence, allowing for the diagnosis of traumatic injuries without the need for a doctor on call. For now, he is excited to continue studying the sensitivity and reach of the app in emergency rooms, with local doctors and with researchers and doctors in Thailand and Australia.
The app has immense potential to change the way traumatic dental injuries are treated—and funding sources agree. The three grants Huang received are competitive and prestigious. The International Association for Dental Research provided Huang with fully 1/3 of the funds they sponsor in a year to continue research and development.
A Masonic Charities grant in collaboration with the Department of Pediatrics will provide the opportunity to present the app at the Minnesota State Fair in 2022. Most recently, the Global Health Seed fund will help as Huang and his team compare the app’s use in Minnesota and in Thailand, based on differing emergency care systems.
Huang is grateful for the investment in his vision, made possible in part by his role at the university. “I found that Minnesota is very welcoming to research opportunities like this,” he explained. “In Australia, we may have received one grant—but here, with a good reputation and the University to support us, we have been very successful.”
He is excited to continue working on this international, interprofessional endeavor that allows him to work
with professionals and researchers across the world.
“I have gotten to work with many people and in many environments, which provides more visible outcomes,” he said. “Our intention is not to have some ‘fancy’ technology, but to improve accessibility in a very real way.”
Most of all, Huang looks forward to being part of what he considers the future of dentistry: telehealth. “Technology is so important to dental education,” he explained.
“When I was a dental student, there was no such thing as a dental implant. Now, every student and dentist knows how to do them. I suspect that teledentistry will be much the same: whether dentists use it in their practice, they will know about it. This is something that will change dentistry, and that is something I am excited about.”
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Key Research Takeaways
• Boyen Huang, DDS, MHA, PhD, received three grants to further his development of an app that connects dental experts with providers in the emergency room.
• Huang’s research seeks to study the accuracy of virtual diagnoses, putting an oral health professional’s expertise in the areas people already go for traumatic dental care.
• Next steps include expanding the app to schools and incorporating artificial intelli- gence diagnostics.