Prediction of single implant pink esthetic scores in the esthetic zone using deep learning: A proof of concept.

Objectives This study aimed to develop a deep learning (DL) model for the predictive esthetic evaluation of single-implant treatments in the esthetic zone.Methods A total of 226 samples, each comprising three intraoral photographs and 12 clinical features, were collected for proof of concept. Labels were determined by a prosthodontic specialist using the pink esthetic score (PES). A DL model was developed to predict PES based on input images and clinical data. The performance was assessed and compared with that of two other models.Results The DL model achieved an average mean absolute error (MAE) of 1.3597, average root mean squared error (MSE) of 1.8324, a Pearson correlation of 0.6326, and accuracies of 65.93% and 85.84% for differences between predicted and ground truth values no larger than 1 and 2, respectively. An ablation study demonstrated that incorporating all input features yielded the best performance, with the proposed model outperforming comparison models.Conclusions DL demonstrates potential for providing acceptable preoperative PES predictions for single implant-supported prostheses in the esthetic zone. Ongoing efforts to collect additional samples and clinical features aim to further enhance the model's performance.Clinical Significance The DL model supports dentists in predicting esthetic outcomes and making informed treatment decisions before implant placement. It offers a valuable reference for inexperienced and general dentists to identify esthetic risk factors, thereby improving implant treatment outcomes.