Using AI to build immediate trust with your patients

Using AI to build immediate trust with your patients

We speak to Amanda Bassey-Duke who explains how Hello Pearl has illuminated the conversations she has with her patients.

An associate dentist at Clyde Munro Dental Group, Dr Bassey-Duke said treatment presentations using traditional x-rays used to feel like performing ‘dark arts’. ‘We’d tell them what we saw, and they just had to trust us,’ she said.

But everything has changed since using Hello Pearl’s Second Opinion – an AI-powered radiographic interpretation tool.

When Dr Bassey-Duke joined Dental Care Perth, requesting Second Opinion was one of her first priorities. Initially, she was the only clinician in the group using the technology. However, just two years later, following demonstrable improvements in both clinical outcomes and patient engagement, the innovative system is being rolled out more widely across the group’s extensive network of practices.

‘Patient communication has become much easier,’ she says. ‘Previously, explaining an X-ray felt like trying to interpret shadows on a wall. I’d point to an area and say, “This is decay”, and patients simply had to trust my professional judgement. Sometimes they did, sometimes they remained sceptical. Now, they can see the decay highlighted clearly for themselves, which builds immediate understanding and trust.’

What Dr Bassey-Duke’s patients say about Hello Pearl

When Dr Bassey-Duke surveyed her patients about their AI-enhanced appointments, the response was overwhelmingly positive.

  • 86% – AI visuals helped me understand my oral health

  • 77% – I trusted my dentist’s diagnosis more after seeing the AI results

  • 77% – AI-enhanced X-rays influenced me to book a treatment appointment

  • 94% – I was happy with my appointments.

Time saving benefits

The software has also helped to bring preventive treatment into clearer focus. ‘There are things I wouldn’t normally mention in a consultation,’ she says.

‘For example, enamel lesions that are still reversible. Now they show up as pink spots and patients ask me about them directly. That opens the door to discussions about oral hygiene and diet in a way that feels natural, not forced.’

Time savings have also been a benefit. On average, Dr Bassey-Duke estimates that using Second Opinion reduces her consultation time by just over nine minutes per patient. She says: ‘That adds up quickly over the course of a week. It gives me breathing space to complete clinical notes properly, fit in admin, or simply regroup between appointments.’

The cost, she believes, is also modest in comparison. Second Opinion is priced at just over £200 per month per practice. ‘Even if one additional patient goes ahead with treatment because of what they’ve seen, it covers the cost,’ she says. ‘It makes sense both clinically and financially.’

About Hello Pearl

Hello Pearl was founded in 2019 and has received regulatory approval for its software in more than 120 countries. It is also the first dental AI platform cleared by the FDA to detect pathologies in dental radiographs. The software is used to support dentists in diagnosing conditions more confidently and explaining those findings more clearly to patients.

To book a live demo please visit https://say.hellopearl.uk/book-live-demo/.

This article is sponsored by Hello Pearl.

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