DENTAL CARE IMPROVEMENTS USING INFORMATICS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Professor Heiko Spallek
Head of School and Dean of The University of Sydney School of Dentistry &
Member of Scientific Advisory Committee, Dentroid

RESEARCHER PROFILE 
Filmed in Sydney, Australia | December 2024

Professor Heiko Spallek is the Head of School and Dean of the Sydney Dental School, as well as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for Dentroid, a startup in Australia aiming to revolutionise dentistry with laser technology. He has gained extensive experience in various roles at research-intensive institutions across three different continents.

Professor Spallek advanced his dental knowledge by studying computer information science in the US, particularly in Philadelphia. He conducted research for 20 years in the US at the intersection of dentistry and informatics.

As the Dean of Dentistry, he remains involved with a group in the US focused on improving dental care through informatics and artificial intelligence. In Australia, he finds the opportunity to work with Dentroid particularly engaging, as the startup seeks to enhance dental care by eliminating needles and drills to reduce patient discomfort.

Professor Spallek notes that there haven’t been significant changes in dentistry over the past few decades, aside from incremental improvements. He finds it both challenging and interesting to address the stagnation in the field, despite the availability of better materials in dentistry.

He points out that traditional dental treatments still heavily rely on local anaesthesia administered through long needles, as well as high-pitched noises and vibrations from hand pieces, which create discomfort for patients. Furthermore, dentists often have to hunch over patients’ mouths, exposing themselves to infectious spray.

Dentroid is attempting to create a paradigm shift by starting treatments with a light-induced analgesic, followed by a small robot that clamps onto the tooth, removing tissue without the need for drilling through laser technology. This procedure is guided and controlled by the dentist from a desk. Professor Spallek collaborates with researchers from four leading institutions in Australia to bring this new vision to life.

Outside of his professional responsibilities, Professor Spallek prioritises his family and serves as a volunteer director for Community Connections Australia. This organisation offers a range of tailored services to individuals living with disabilities. With the support of a management team, their 150 frontline workers assist approximately 300 clients in achieving greater independence in their homes.