Metaverse, Crypto, and NFTs in Dentistry

The dental community has expressed a growing interest in the metaverse and its applications. In fact, our PubMed search up till July 2022 (metaverse AND (stomatology or dental or dentistry or oral)) found three indexed manuscripts discussing the metaverse in dentistry [1,2,3]. Coincidently, all these recent publications were found in the British Dental Journal. This speaks well about the openness to discuss this nontraditional topic, which may be primarily attractive to early technology adopters. The metaverse is a virtual environment that simulates the natural world via multisensory interactions with 3D objects. In other words, the metaverse ecosystem is a 3D world simulation or twin world. We have previously witnessed the introduction of digital technologies to reconstructive dentistry [4,5,6] implant dentistry [7,8] aesthetic dentistry [9,10] orthodontics [11,12,13] etc., and the implementation of the digital workflow to our practice and the educational setting has proven its efficiency, such as a reduction in waste, time, increased cost effectiveness, reduction in the time and number of appointments, increase in predictability through improved treatment planning, and enhanced patient satisfaction [14,15,16]. More recently, the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) has simplified the diagnosis of clinical cases and planning, patient treatment acceptance, as well as the learning experience of our dental students [17]. Indeed, these technologies could facilitate the implementation an evidence-based practice [17,18,19,20,21]. The coronavirus pandemic also helped the rapid advancement and adoption of teaching technologies in dental education [14,15] such as the flipped classroom [22]. The demand for oral health education using virtual platforms is a reality.

Interestingly, medical schools have successfully worked directly within VR using haptic technology [3]. Metalearning could provide higher oral health education access to schoolchildren, underprivileged people, caregivers, and clinicians [1]. Dental lectures and courses in the metaverse offer another opportunity for dental education. This teaching delivery method has the potential to offer quantifiable improvements over traditional methods besides student satisfaction [22]. The metaverse could advance clinical decision support systems and become a working platform for healthcare researchers.

We have already been warned that most virtual meetings are likely to soon be held in the metaverse with digital avatars, [2] including dental telehealth conversations. Additionally, it is possible to see (in live view) the exact 3D implant position and bone at the time of implant surgery, similar to what is already happening with dynamic navigation [23].

Children or dental phobic patients can familiarize themselves with the office atmosphere and facilitate their future dental visits to be treated. In general, through the metaverse, patients can now have a different dental experience option. With this, barriers between the government and private sector are anticipated to reduce, and health insurance is likely to become involved; however, the global security of virtual platforms should be ensured.

The blockchain is an entirely digital accounting ledger system that records transactions across many computers (holographic cards or networks), which restricts retroactively altering subsequent blocks or the network consensus. In other words, each registered block is considered currency (e.g., Bitcoin), a finite resource carrying a digital code that cannot be falsified. Smart contracts, such as "tokens" and "NFTs" (nonfungible tokens), have been developed on blockchain technology. Payments are instant, and transaction fees are minimal. Thus, patients would be able to buy real and virtual goods or services with cryptocurrency. For instance, patients could mint an NFT with a dental membership or loyalty benefits, such as free access or discounts to dental consults, check-ups, instructional videos, prophylaxis, or avatar accessories (e.g., dental jewellery or grillz). Consequently, dental practices can benefit from the marketing potential of their metaverse presence.

The metaverse is certainly an excellent platform to promote oral health, wellbeing, and access to more people [1]. However, people-to-people communication continues to be fundamental [2] until AI proves the opposite. Without a doubt, the metaverse is expected to become a platform for oral healthcare services integrated into our everyday life. It is up to us to decide when to jump into the twin digital world.