How Aspen Dental Deployed AI Diagnostics Across 1,100+ Practices and Boosted Treatment Acceptance by 12%
Dental Support Organization (DSO), 1,100+ locations nationwide
The Challenge
Aspen Dental, the largest group of branded dental offices in the world, faced a persistent challenge common across large dental networks: inconsistent diagnostic quality, low patient treatment acceptance rates, and the difficulty of communicating complex oral health findings to patients in a clear, compelling way. With over 1,100 practices and 2,000+ dentists, ensuring consistent, high-quality diagnostics at scale was a significant operational hurdle. Patients often struggled to understand abstract black-and-white X-ray images, leading to delayed treatment decisions and preventable disease progression. Additionally, administrative burdens — including manual periodontal charting and documentation — were consuming valuable clinical time that could be spent on patient care.
The Solution
Aspen Dental partnered with VideaHealth, the leading dental AI platform, to deploy VideaAI — an AI-powered clinical diagnostic assistant — across all 1,100+ Aspen Dental practices nationwide. The rollout, completed in just six weeks in early 2026, is one of the largest AI implementations in dentistry to date. VideaAI integrates directly into Aspen Dental's existing radiographic workflows, providing real-time AI-assisted analysis of dental X-rays with color-coded annotations that highlight early decay, bone loss, and other conditions directly on the image. Dentists can review AI-flagged findings before exams and use the visual annotations chairside to walk patients through their diagnoses in plain language. The platform also includes voice-enabled AI for periodontal charting — deployed across practices since April 2023 — which automatically converts spoken clinical observations into structured chart-ready notes, freeing dental assistants and hygienists from manual data entry. Aspen Dental's broader AI strategy, internally called 'Aspen Intelligence,' coordinates consultative, clinical, and operational AI insights into smarter workflows across the entire network.
The Results
Pilot practices saw a 12% increase in patients accepting recommended care, driven by clearer AI-assisted visual explanations of diagnoses
Nationwide deployment across 1,100+ practices completed in just six weeks — one of the fastest large-scale AI rollouts in dentistry
Every Aspen Dental location nationwide now has access to AI-powered diagnostic support, standardizing care quality across the network
Patients are choosing non-invasive treatment for early-stage cavities sooner, avoiding more invasive and costly procedures later
“In pilot practices, we observed a 12% increase in treatment acceptance following implementation. More importantly, we saw earlier intervention: patients chose to accept care before their oral health conditions progressed. This is not about AI replacing clinical judgement — it is about making clinical expertise more visible and more understandable to the patient sitting in the chair.”
Key Takeaways
AI-powered diagnostic visualizations that show patients color-highlighted findings on their own X-rays dramatically improve treatment acceptance and patient trust
Large-scale AI rollouts across multi-location dental networks are achievable in weeks when implementation is carefully piloted and workflows are designed for integration rather than disruption
Voice-enabled AI for clinical documentation frees hygienists and dental assistants from manual charting, allowing more time for direct patient care
Standardizing AI-assisted diagnostics across a DSO network improves calibration and consistency without removing clinical autonomy from individual dentists
Early disease detection enabled by AI leads to less invasive, lower-cost treatments — benefiting both patients and practice economics
Sources: Based on publicly reported data from BusinessWire, Dental Tribune International, Becker's Dental Review, and RDH Magazine
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