“Second Opinion is 99% accurate and, if I’m being generous to myself, I’m at about 87%”

11 June, 2025 / professional-focus
 Dr Amanda Bassey-Duke  

Dr Amanda Bassey-Duke explains how technology is driving treatment uptake at Clyde Munro by enhancing patient understanding of their dental health issues.

Technology is revolutionising patient interactions about oral health at a forward-thinking, Scottish dental practice within the Clyde Munro Dental Group.  The software it is using enables the clinicians to articulate dental issues which were previously difficult to explain, and ‘shows’ patients their oral health issues using easy-to-understand graphic evidence.

Cutting-edge, digital dentistry was an important factor in Dr Bassey-Duke joining Clyde Munro a little over two years ago. “When I first moved here, they asked me what I needed. I requested Second Opinion from Hello Pearl. I was the first person to use this technology within the group, and because of how useful and effective it has been, it’s now used by a significant proportion of our clinicians.”

Second Opinion uses AI-driven software powered by computer vision tools to help dentists diagnose dental issues in real time. It produces colourful x-ray overlays and detailed information highlighting areas of incipient decay, bone levels, and signs of infection. This, says Dr Bassey-Duke, has “completely transformed” patient consultations. “Now, patients see what I see. The number of people who’ve said ‘wow, I’ve never understood my x-rays before’, but now I’m showing them their x-rays in colour mode…including how close decay is to their pulp.

“Plus, in the past I’ve never spoken to patients about enamel lesions – the ones that are reversible. Instead, I’d mentally note a lesion but wouldn’t have the right words to discuss it with a patient – I’d just tell them to floss and brush their teeth. Now, they draw my attention to lesions, which shows as pink spots on Second Opinion imagery and ask me what they are and how to avoid them progressing.”

Dr Amanda Bassey-Duke.

Dr. Bassey-Duke added: “When patients better understand their oral health issues, they are also more open to committing to more treatments print out images of patients’ Second Opinion results and half the people who say ‘no, or not yet’, then examine the print out and the ‘no’ becomes a ‘yes’.

“Added to which hygienist appointments are up across the board because there’s a massive increase in understanding of the seriousness of gum disease: Second Opinion shows bone levels and incipient caries. Patients take all of this a lot more seriously. People tell me they weren’t flossing before, but now they are, and ask for another x-ray to see if they’re doing better at the next appointment.”

By using Second Opinion as part of her consultations, Dr Bassey-Duke is also monitoring how much time she saves in diagnosing dental health conditions using the software’s visual aid, and her own accuracy levels, particularly during busy or stressful times.

“Second Opinion is 99% accurate and if I’m being generous, I’m at about 87%. So, I’m using it to judge myself – checking my fatigue and my mood. I don’t care what anyone says, the more tired you are, the higher the chance you are going to miss things. There are times when I’ve been caught out, whereas Second Opinion has no emotions. It is not upset if the previous patient was rude to you, so I’m analysing my mood against my diagnostic capabilities.”

Dr. Bassey-Duke is also monitoring patient satisfaction and assessing trust in her diagnosis and how likely patients are to return to the practice for treatment. She’s expecting to report initial results at the end of May.

Finally, Dr. Bassey-Duke underlines the value for a practice in incorporating Second Opinion as part of their workflow: “It’s a little over £200 per month, regardless of whether there’s one clinician or one hundred. One extra patient per month taking up treatment means the technology pays for itself.”

For more information, visit: hellopearl.com/getdemo

Tags: Clyde Munro / Hello Pearl / Second Opinion

Categories: Professional Focus

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