scanO

A contact-free scan that takes minutes, and a report a few seconds later flagging what might be wrong. That is what scanO air does, and it now sits in selected Nuffield Dental clinics.

It is a screening tool, and a widely misunderstood one. scanO is screening software. The distinction from diagnosis is a regulatory one, and it changes what the result can be used for, how accurate you should expect it to be, and what has to happen next.

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What Is scanO?

scanO is an artificial intelligence platform for oral health screening, built around image analysis with no instrument placed in your mouth. According to the company, the version in our clinics, scanO air, screens for visual signs associated with more than 40 tooth-related conditions through a model it calls Tooth AI, and uses a second model, Predict AI, to generate a visual simulation of how a cavity could change over time if left untreated. The company states its models are trained on more than a million dental images. It also sells a consumer app and clinic-facing software under names including cOpilot, engage and care.

The important detail is in how the company positions it. On its own site scanO is described as AI-powered screening, practice management and patient engagement software sold to dental practices. Screening is the operative word, and it is doing regulatory work as well as descriptive work.

Is scanO a Registered Medical Device in Singapore?

No, and that follows directly from how it is positioned. A search of all 20,860 entries on the Singapore Medical Device Register maintained by the Health Sciences Authority returns no registration for scanO or its developer. For comparison, dental AI software that does make diagnostic claims is registered here: Align X-ray Insights and EM2Clinic Software both hold Class B registrations in the dental category.

Software becomes a regulated medical device when it is intended to diagnose, treat or inform clinical decisions. Software that presents itself as screening and education, explicitly stopping short of diagnosis, sits outside that definition. So the absence of a registration follows from what the product claims to be.

The practical consequence for you as a patient is simpler: a screening result is a reason to look more closely, not a diagnosis.

This is the reason the screening label matters.

A 2024 systematic review in Oral Diseases assessed 19 clinical studies of artificial intelligence detecting dental caries on oral photographs. Performance varied enormously depending on what took the picture. Measured by F1-score, a combined measure of how much the software finds and how much of what it flags is real, results were 68.3% to 95.4% for professional cameras and 78.8% to 87.6% for intraoral cameras.

For smartphone cameras the range was 42.8% to 80%.

Image source	F1-score range reported
Professional cameras	68.3% to 95.4%
Intraoral cameras	78.8% to 87.6%
Smartphone cameras	42.8% to 80%

Which band applies depends on what took the picture. The review found that reported performance varied according to image source. These ranges should not be applied directly to scanO unless the system has been independently evaluated using comparable imaging conditions. The reviewers also noted that reporting standards across the field vary widely, so treat any single accuracy figure with caution. The review discussed potential applications of AI-assisted image analysis in triage, patient communication and teledentistry.

What AI Screening Is Actually Good For

Used honestly, a tool like scanO does three things well, and none of them is diagnosis.

Triage: It can tell someone who has not seen a dentist in years that something warrants a look, which may help in a population that delays care.
Communication: A highlighted image makes an explanation land in a way a verbal description does not. Showing a patient what you are seeing changes the conversation.
A visual record between visits: For someone tracking a known problem area, a periodic image gives a rough record of whether it is changing.

What it cannot do is see below the gum line, read the inside surfaces of teeth, measure pocket depth, detect decay between teeth where a bitewing radiograph is needed, or assess anything under an existing crown or filling. A dental check-up can assess areas that photographs or AI screening alone cannot.

scanO Air at Nuffield Dental

scanO air is available at selected Nuffield Dental clinics, and you can ask about it at your next visit. It takes minutes, uses no instruments and no radiation, and gives you something to look at while we talk. It may prompt an earlier visit for people who would otherwise wait until something hurts.

What it does not do is stand in for an examination, and we do not use it that way. A flagged area is a reason to look carefully at that area, and the assessment that follows is the one we would have done anyway. A clear result does not rule out disease, particularly between teeth and below the gum line where no photograph reaches.

If it has been a while since anyone looked properly, the useful next step is an examination.

Orchard Dental

Nuffield Dental Jewel
Wheelock Place501 Orchard Road #05-01 Singapore 238880

+65 6950 2866

+65 9657 4331

jewel@nuffielddental.com.sg

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FAQs

Is scanO a replacement for a dental check-up?

No, and the product does not claim to be. It analyses photographs of the visible surfaces of your teeth. It cannot assess between teeth, below the gum line, inside a tooth, or under existing restorations, which is a large share of what an examination is actually looking for.

Is scanO approved by HSA?

A search of the Singapore Medical Device Register does not return a registration for scanO or its developer. That does not, on its own, determine how the software is classified. In Singapore, the regulatory status of health software depends on its intended purpose and the claims made for it.

How accurate is scanO?

The company has not published independent accuracy data that I could verify, so the fair answer is to look at the field. Published systematic review evidence for AI caries detection on smartphone photographs, which is not specific to scanO, reports F1-scores ranging from 42.8% to 80%, which is a wide spread. Treat any single accuracy figure quoted for any product in this category with caution unless it is backed by a peer-reviewed study.

Does scanO use radiation?

No. It works from ordinary photographs, so there is no radiation involved in the consumer scan. That is also its main limitation, because bitewing radiographs may be used to assess decay between teeth where clinically indicated, and these do use a small dose.

Should I ignore what scanO tells me?

No. Treat a flagged result as a prompt to get examined, and do not treat a clear result as conclusive. Either way the value is in what you do next.

Medical References

Health Sciences Authority. (n.d.). Singapore Medical Device Register (SMDR). Health Sciences Authority. https://www.hsa.gov.sg/e-services/infosearch

Moharrami, M., Farmer, J., Singhal, S., Watson, E., Glogauer, M., Johnson, A. E. W., Schwendicke, F., & Quinonez, C. (2024). Detecting dental caries on oral photographs using artificial intelligence: A systematic review. Oral Diseases, 30(4), 1765-1783. https://doi.org/10.1111/odi.14659

Why Choose Nuffield Dental?

Nuffield Dental is a dental clinic in Singapore providing services across several dental disciplines. Treatment is planned after a consultation and clinical assessment.

Nuffield Dental provides dental services across several disciplines at its clinics in Singapore. After a consultation and clinical assessment, your dentist sets out the treatment options that apply to your case, what each option involves and what it costs, before treatment begins.

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Our dentists are registered with the Singapore Dental Council. The team includes dentists who provide root canal treatment, oral surgery and dental implant treatment. Each dentist's qualifications and registration details are listed on their profile page.

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