A robot-assisted dental surgical system is a new reality at Excel Dental and Implant Center on San Antonio's Northwest Side, improving patient outcomes and satisfaction, said Dr. Andrew Weber, a board-certified periodontist at Excel.
"It's like darts," Weber said. But with Yomi, "You're going to hit the bullseye every time."
Two years ago, Excel Dental acquired the Yomi Robotic Dental System – an FDA-cleared system developed by Neocis, a Florida-based surgical robotics company. Last year, Yomi assisted in approximately 350 of Excel's dental implant surgeries, Weber told the Business Journal.
Yomi is a computerized navigational system intended to "assist in the planning and surgical phases of dental implantation surgery," according to Neocis. Yomi is equipped with software that allows the dentist to plan the ideal position of an implant on a patient. The robotic arm is controlled by the dentist throughout the procedure and provides feedback should the dentist attempt any movement that deviates from the plan.
Yomi also features a built-in tracking and feedback system that adjusts the arm's prescribed cutting position, depth and angles to accommodate a patient's movements.
"If you're in the dental chair, it's not always a fun place to be," Weber said. "People get a little nervous and move around. So if they're moving, [Yomi] gives us such precision over that, to where the drill will move as the patient moves."
Traditional dental implant procedures can last anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, but with Yomi a dentist can place an implant in 15 minutes or less, said Weber.
"But quite honestly, once we get into the procedure, we're talking just five minutes," he added.
Patients' experiences with Yomi have been "overwhelmingly positive," with patients reporting short recovery times and little to no pain at the surgical site, Weber said.
"She didn't miss a beat," Weber said, recalling one patient's experience. "There were no sutures; there were no stitches – she was able to go right back to a meeting right after having her dental surgery."
"There are lots of patient benefits, but it comes down to precision," said Cecily Kertson, clinical business representative for Neocis. "We're talking about fractions of millimeters. This is spot-on precision."
Popularized by the da Vinci Robotic Surgical System, the robotic medical devices market is growing at a fast clip. Growing at a rate of 12% annually, the robotic medical devices market is estimated to be worth $4.5 billion by 2030, according to the Medical Device Network, a medical device news and procurement site.
Working with Yomi has been a grounding experience for Weber, who has placed thousands of dental implants over his 25-year career.
"There's a little bit of an ego in our field. Primarily a lot of perio- and oral surgeons, they're like, 'I don't need this,' and 'I can do this without that.' But you have to humble yourself to be like, 'Hey. There's a better way to do this,'" Weber said.
