Comparison Between a Machine Learning Model and Dental Specialists for Measuring Periodontal Bone Loss

Abstract

Abstract Background Considering the prevalence of Periodontitis, new tools to help improve its diagnostic workflow could be beneficial. Machine Learning (ML) models have already been used in dentistry to automate radiographic analysis. Aims To determine the efficacy of an ML model for automatically measuring Periodontal Bone Loss (PBL) on panoramic radiographs. Methods A dataset of 2010 molar images with and without PBL was segmented using Label Studio. The dataset was split into n = 2010 images for building a training dataset and n = 40 images for building a testing dataset. We propose a model composed of three components. Firstly, statistical inference techniques find probability functions that best describe the segmented dataset. Secondly, Convolutional Neural Networks extract visual information from the training dataset. Thirdly, an algorithm calculates PBL as a percentage and classifies it in stages. Afterwards, a standardized test compared the model to two radiologists, two periodontists and one general dentist. The test was built using the testing dataset, 40 questions long, done in controlled conditions, with radiologists considered as ground truth. Presence or absence, percentage, and stage of PBL were asked, and time to answer the test was measured in seconds. Diagnostic indices, performance metrics and performance averages were calculated for each participant. Results The model had an acceptable performance for diagnosing light to moderate PBL (weighted sensitivity 0.23, weighted F1-score 0.29) and was able to achieve real-time diagnosis. However, it proved incapable of diagnosing severe PBL (sensitivity, precision, and F1-score = 0). Conclusions We propose a Machine Learning model that automates the diagnosis of Periodontal Bone Loss in panoramic radiographs with acceptable performance.