VJ, (founder of 21D): This AI Dentistry System Replaces Teeth in 2 Hours | DSH #1771

So in the UK, there's two and a half million people with no teeth, and there's another five million that are about to lose them in the next five years.

In the United States, according to the American Deathless Association, there are 35 million with no teeth,

and there's another 40 million that's going to join them within the next five or ten years.

When you say no teeth, is that all their teeth?

All of them.

Hold on.

35 million.

10th of the American population.

Which is insane.

Alright guys, we got Vijay here, founder of 21D speaker here at the AI4 conference man.

How's the conference been for you?

Fascinating.

Real eye openness.

So this is my first AI conference.

Yeah.

So I'm actually a clinician, but I build AI systems as well.

So this is the first time I'm not at a clinical forum, but I'm in an AI forum, and it's mind-blowingly good.

Yeah, that's some of the most interesting people of all time here.

I love the level of imagination.

That's the bit that I thrive on it.

It's what I'm all about.

The blue sky thinking and creating what the world needs, as opposed to what it's got now.

Absolutely.

And this is a room full of people like that.

I absolutely love you.

So for people that don't know what 21D's about, can you explain the company and its origin?

So yeah, 21D just basically stands for 21st century dentistry.

So the last 25 years of my life, what I've been doing is doing the most extreme correction

in dentistry, which is people who've either got no teeth or who are about to lose all their teeth, putting them all back.

So 25 years ago, it used to take six months and multiple surgical visits and all kinds of rubbish like bone grafting and all that.

Today, it's two hours.

Wow.

For a full set of teeth.

All your old teeth out, all the rubbish removed, all the jawbone cleaned out, all the implants in new teeth on top.

See you later.

Two hours.

Have a nice life.

And it's good quality material.

It's the highest quality material.

Wow.

Are those veneers or is that different?

No, it's prosthetics.

So imagine instead of just the teeth, so what these people have lost is not just teeth.

They've lost gum.

They've lost bone.

Right.

The prosthetic reproduces all the parts and the shading and the coloring and the painting.

Wow.

If you see them, you would never know in a month of Sundays that none of it's real.

What?

We're gonna have to throw up some photos on this.

Oh, you need to see them.

So you can't distinguish that it's fake teeth.

Not a chance.

Wow.

Yeah, wait till you see my photos.

It'll blow your mind.

And where's AI play into this?

So AI is the most important part for me because when a patient comes in, the full of fear, they don't know what's going on.

They don't know what's possible with what they have.

So we just do diagnostics when they come in.

So we take a CT scan.

We take what's called an intramural scan.

So if you've been to the dentist, you know, there's molds that they put in your mouth.

None of that.

Super uncomfortable, by the way.

Ah, it's terrible.

Makes me nauseous.

Intramural scanners have been around for 20 years.

I'm just surprised that every clinic in the world hasn't got one.

Wow.

Which is just to go.

It must be an insurance thing.

I'd imagine or something.

Well, even if it is, one of the things we want to do when we come here to the U.S.

Is we just want to give clinics an intramural scanner.

We don't want to pay for it.

Just say use it.

Here you go.

Because they're really affordable now.

There's just no excuse to not use it.

And then we do a face scan, 3D face scan.

Yeah.

So the AI takes those images and assembles them.

So the accuracy is now to 10 microns now.

Wow.

Right.

And then from that, the AI will run a series of calculations of biomechanics to tell you how the teeth are going to function

where they need to sit inside your skull.

So it's very different to mine or here's or whoever else is inside your skull.

So then it shows you on a screen immediately in about five seconds,

where you're at, what you need, and most important, why?

So all of the calculations are run by the AI.

That then gets transferred to your phone.

You can then go home and sit there with a 3D image of you.

And you can ask the AI any question you like.

And it will just give you all the answers.

Wow.

And then the event is when you decide that that's what you want.

So you press yes, I want this.

That does two things.

First is it's your informed consent.

And the second is it's the moment you pay for stuff.

Nice.

Once you hit that button, the 3D printers and the milling machines just go into action

and start making all the stuff you need for that.

So your surgical guides are 3D printed.

Your prosthetics are milled.

And then it all comes to your servicing clinician in a box.

Wow.

That guy just opens the box, stares at the screen.

So the AI is telling him what to do.

And he just follows it.

So he will now behave like a guy who puts IKEA furniture together,

following a set of instructions on the screen.

And that's how we can do it in two hours.

That's crazy.

What's possible?

And it's obviously working because in three and a half years,

you went from zero to 40 million in revenue.

Yeah.

Shout out to today's sponsor, Quince.

As the weather cools, I'm swapping in the pieces that actually gets the job done,

that are warm, durable and built to last.

Quince delivers every time with wardrobe staples that'll carry you through the season.

They have false staples that you'll actually want to wear,

like the 100% Mongolian cashmere for just $60.

They also got classic fit denim and real leather and wool out of wear

that looks sharp and holds up.

They're partnering directly with ethical factories and top artisans.

Quince cuts out the middlemen still to deliver premium quality

at half the cost of similar brands.

They've really become a go-to across the board.

You guys know how I love linen and how I've talked about it on previous episodes.

I picked up some linen pants and they feel incredible.

The quality is definitely noticeable compared to other brands.

Layer up this fall with pieces that feel as good as they look.

Go to quince.com slash DSH for free shipping on your order and 365

their returns. They're also available in Canada too.

Did you expect it to take off that work?

For me, it's too slow.

Really?

My management team know about that on a repat basis.

For me, okay, if I contextualize the scale of the market.

So in the UK, there's two and a half million people with no teeth.

Wow.

And there's another five million that are about to lose them in the next five years.

In the United States, according to the American Dental Association,

there are 35 million with no teeth.

And there's another 40 million that's going to join them within the next five or 10 years.

When you say no teeth, is that all their teeth?

All of them.

Hold on.

31 of the American population, which is insane.

I can't even comprehend that it must be I'd imagine the elderly.

That makes a majority of us know that this is a degenerative condition.

Just like people who need a hip replacement, people who need a hip replacement,

it isn't because they don't have to take care of their hips.

It's just 50, 60 years of wear and tech.

But pretty much the same thing with the mouth.

It isn't they don't know which end of a toothbrush goes in the mouth.

It's just one of those things that happens to people.

So we know that for a hip for a degenerative hip, it's a hip replacement.

For a degenerative mouth, it's what I do.

It's a medical procedure. It's not a cosmetic procedure.

It's a biofunctional procedure.

You'll look great at the end of it, but it's not the reason we do it.

We do it to stop disease and greatly improve your health and your digestive function.

That's why we do it.

Because the current solution seem a little archaic, right?

Archaic is a very nice word.

Right?

Here's my problem.

My problem is the global need is about one and a half billion human beings.

And that need is accelerating while.

And then I come to countries and I'm in Europe or I come to the United States.

And I hear that for a person who desperately needs this needs to come up with 50 to 60,000 dollars.

Yeah, we're currently charging 22,000 dollars for the most efficient system in the world in the UK.

I'm just wondering why they're being charged 50 to 60,000 dollars in the United States for exactly the same biology.

There's no other solution. They have a monopoly, I'd imagine, right?

Well, until another monopoly turns up, like me.

Yes, if you come here, you could cut.

Oh, we're definitely coming.

We're definitely coming.

Which cities do plan on hitting first?

Well, we're going to start in the South first.

So we're going to start in Atlanta.

We're going to cover seven states.

The proof of concept.

So everybody's the same.

So everybody's the same.

So you know, you said to me, I built that other company in three and a half years to a 40 million revenue.

People don't believe me when I say it.

They just think I'm crazy.

So I'll just come here next year and build it.

They won't think I'm crazy in 2027.

Yeah.

Then they'll go, okay, we just need to listen to this guy and work with him.

I want to help those 80 million people.

I want to give them the opportunities to have excellent health care at an affordable price.

I'm a capitalist.

My company is a very successful company.

It makes very decent profit margins.

And those profits are used to help more people.

That's what health care is about.

That's what it should be about.

Well, they're lucky because VJ has no interest in being rich.

Giving me money is like giving a monkey a machine gun.

There's nothing good going to come out of it.

I can't be bothered.

What am I going to do with a yacht?

Nothing.

But I really get a kick out of helping people on a daily basis.

I have a billionaire in gratitude.

So when I feel the hug of my patients, because I've helped them, I know I've made a difference for respects.

And I like that.

So that's why I do it.

I'd love to see more of that in the health care in America.

Unfortunately, it's not like that anymore.

Until we turn up.

Yeah.

So listen when I'm killing their businesses.

And then you got two choices.

Die or join me.

A lot of people in America, I don't know about the UK, but they hate dentists.

Okay.

You know the main reason they hate dentists lack of transparency.

The minute you make it transparent, and then you know for a fact that no one's lying to you.

No.

Okay.

Nobody likes the idea of having any kind of intervention of surgery.

But the reason that they hate dentists, I know a lot of dentists, I trained dentists.

These aren't bad people.

They're just terrible communicators.

Right.

They're just terrible.

Yeah.

Right.

But in the world, I imagine in the world of the future, the communication is done by the AI on your phone 24 hours a day.

So if you understand what is needed.

Things are quantified before you engage in it.

There are no nasty surprises or bad experiences.

So if the AI says your tooth will be removed in 60 seconds using these techniques.

You can mentally prepare for those 60 seconds using that technique.

Right.

But when you're told, oh, I can take the tooth out easily.

And then you're still there an hour and a half later.

Yeah, that's why you grow to hate dentists.

Good point.

I don't actually don't mind them.

I go to a holistic dentist and they use AI to scan my teeth.

So now I know for a fact where the cavity is.

There's been a lot of dentists getting exposed for saying there's cavities and patient smile.

So there's not.

And then that's a whole scandal.

But as a practicing clinician for 32 years, when I hear clinicians say to me,

don't you have a problem getting patients?

Now I have the opposite problem.

I have a four and a half months waiting list of people who are dying to get into

see us while just because we just do our job really well.

So I don't buy this that you need to go looking for work or creating work.

We are the sickest population of human beings in the history of mankind.

We are fantastically good at screwing ourselves up.

Okay.

We don't actually need to go and find work that doesn't need doing.

Because the rate at which human beings are screwing up their mouths, their eyes,

there is everything has never been higher in human history.

So I don't understand why any clinician would want to create work that doesn't need doing.

Because there's more than enough that does facts.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I'd imagine you could point out anyone here and they have some sort of issue with their teeth.

Well, it's funny.

I've been walking the floor.

I've seen at least eight people that need what I do.

Damn.

Just those people here.

Okay.

You have to understand right now one in eight of the human race right now on this planet

need what I do.

One in eights.

But the problem with these people and this is the bit that really upsets me.

The first time I did this, I was a 29 year old young man, fully fit, totally complete.

I call it, I had what's called the arrogance of the able and young.

So I had this woman sat in front of me who was in her mid fifties.

She wouldn't even make eye contact with me.

And I just arrogantly said, listen, if you don't tell me what the problem is, I can't help you.

And she just looked up at me and she said, the problem is I'm too much of a coward to kill myself

because I hate me because I have this going on.

And I didn't sleep for days because I stopped being a clinician at that moment and I put

myself in her shoes.

And I thought, what must it be like to have this level of self loathing?

Wow.

Every single minute of every single day.

I'd never known it before.

And then I realized how important it was for her that I found a solution.

Wow.

And the solutions didn't exist in the box that existed at the time.

So I had to create a solution that was outside the box.

And everyone said to me, well, if it goes wrong, you're going to get struck off.

And I went, okay, but if it goes right, she's not going to want to kill herself.

And I did that.

And I've been doing it ever since.

Perspects.

That's my motivation.

I care about these people.

I'm a clinician.

I love them.

Did you end up finding that person a gun later down the road?

Oh, she texts me every birthday of mine.

Nice.

Just to wish me a happy birthday because we're still connected.

That's beautiful, man.

Yeah.

Because I made a big difference to her life.

I didn't even think it from that point of view, but you're right.

If you had no teeth, your whole mentality on life is going to be affected.

The, so I, I have a Facebook group for my patients.

We have about 7,000 people on that group.

It's a community where people, the worst thing for me is they all think they're alone.

Well, they all think they've got the worst problem I've ever seen.

But they're not even close, right?

And they share their own stories with each other.

So recently, I think it was day before yesterday, a guy who had a correction from me had the motivation

to then go on and lose about 60 pounds of weight.

Wow.

Change his entire dietary habits, his lifestyle, everything.

And then he said, I've just gone for it.

So I corrected him about seven months ago.

At the time when I assessed him, his body mass index was about 37.

It's now 22.

He was a diabetic.

He is not a diabetic now.

He used to have sleep apnea.

That's gone away.

His blood pressure is under control.

And he said to me, that was the thing that triggered the whole change in me because I didn't love me before.

Well, they gave me a reason for me to love myself again.

And that is what AI should be doing for these people is giving them hope.

And that's what I want to draw.

That's beautiful, man.

Yeah, there's a lot of new studies on how important oral health is and how it connects with the whole body.

Do you want to hear some scary stats?

Yeah.

Okay.

So the most recent papers that were published in 2024, huge studies showing a link of 50 to 70 percent

between parodontal disease and heart disease.

60 to 80 percent connection between parodontal disease and dementia.

Wow.

Now here's a scary number for your viewers.

There are 60 million diagnosed dementia sufferers on earth right now.

The combined cost of care for those 60 million people is 1.2 trillion dollars per year.

So tax dollars are going towards that.

Okay, so we're treating things when we should be preventing things.

To be waste, waste cheaper.

Even if it was free, would you want to be cured or prevented from needing a cure prevented?

So why are we all focused on treatment?

Why aren't we doing more diagnostics earlier?

Why aren't we doing more analytics earlier?

Why aren't we monetizing prevention and demonetizing treatment?

Because we should all be saying it's better to stay complete.

Now, obviously, people are going to slip through the cracks.

People are going to need intervention.

But if it could have been prevented, why aren't we preventing it?

Right.

I love that way of thinking.

Well, VJ has been awesome.

Where could people look up your website and potentially come across?

Anyone.co.uk.

We're in America.

21d.com is going to be launched when we open here in the US.

We're coming because oral disease is just where I'm starting.

The AI is applicable in orthopedics.

So for hip replacement, analytics and production,

near replacements, ACL ligament treatment,

all of those are coming.

And what we want to become is the world's largest educational resource

for all patients.

For free, just get the right information so you can make the right decisions.

So that's the other thing that we're driving.

So go on the website, 21d.co.uk.

Go on the site, guys, if you know anyone that needs some teeth.

See you next time.

I hope you guys are enjoying the show.

Please don't forget to like and subscribe.

It helps the show a lot with the algorithm.

Thank you.