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RDA Emily Welch (left), and Dr. Michael Costa, DDS, MHA (right) review an x-ray of work they just completed for Don Kennedy. The work was completed with the use of a dental robotic device.
The Yomi Robotic Arm is covered in plastic sheeting before a procedure.
RDA Emily Welch prepares Don Kennedy for a dental procedure to be performed with the aid of a dental robotic arm seen in the background.
Dr. Michael Costa, DDS, MHA, guides the robotic arm into position. The robotic arm will be locked into position and will use a second stationary arm to provide feedback if the patient, Don Kennedy in this case, moves.
The Yomi robotic arm sits stowed after a speedy and successful procedure.
Dr. Michael Costa, DDS, MHA, stands in the hallway and describes a successful dental implant procedure that he just completed with the aid of a dental robotic arm.
RDA Emily Welch (left), and Dr. Michael Costa, DDS, MHA (right) review an x-ray of work they just completed for Don Kennedy. The work was completed with the use of a dental robotic device.
The Yomi Robotic Arm is covered in plastic sheeting before a procedure.
RDA Emily Welch prepares Don Kennedy for a dental procedure to be performed with the aid of a dental robotic arm seen in the background.
Dr. Michael Costa, DDS, MHA, guides the robotic arm into position. The robotic arm will be locked into position and will use a second stationary arm to provide feedback if the patient, Don Kennedy in this case, moves.
The Yomi robotic arm sits stowed after a speedy and successful procedure.
Dr. Michael Costa, DDS, MHA, stands in the hallway and describes a successful dental implant procedure that he just completed with the aid of a dental robotic arm.
Dr. Mike Costa of Malone and Costa Dentistry, 264 South Peters Road, Knoxville, places four or five dental implants for his patients every week. He’s been performing the surgery since he started as a dentist in 2014, and knows the operation like the back of his hand. What sets his practice apart from the rest, however, is that he uses a robot to get the job done.
Made by Miami robotics corporation Neocis Inc., the YOMI Robotic Dental System boasts the label of being the only FDA approved robotics system for dental surgery. The robot allows medical professionals to dramatically cut down on the amount of time it takes for a patient to receive an implant and also reduces the invasiveness of the surgery, leading to a faster recovery period.
According to Costa, the system represents the next step in the evolution of dentistry.
“It’s a big investment for the practice, but it’s a better investment for the patients,” he said. “It’s more accurate, it’s safer — I think it’s the new gold standard of implant surgical care.”
Costa has been using the YOMI system since his practice purchased the robot in October of 2021. Before that, he used personalized guides based on the teeth and jaws of his patients. A three-dimensional scan of the patient’s head would be sent to a lab, where it would be molded into a customized plate with a pilot hole to guide the surgeon’s drill at the right spot and angle. The entire process would take two to three weeks.
With the YOMI, however, the scan can be uploaded directly to the robot, creating a virtual version of the guide that the robot’s main arm follows. Tracking a reference point in the patient’s jaw, the arm helps the dentist align the drill with the desired location and then locks into place. A separate arm simultaneously tracks the patient’s head and adjusts the main arm to compensate for any movement, leaving the surgeon to only worry about the depth of the drill bit as they work.
“If you walk in with your front tooth broken and you need an implant,” Costa said, “we can take it out, we can design the surgery and the implant can be placed exactly where it needs to go on the same day.”
That speed and efficiency was exactly what struck Costa’s first patient with the YOMI. Linda Oliver, Knoxville, has had multiple implants placed over more than 20 years. What stood out to her was how quickly the operation was over.
“The robot took no time. It was boom, boom, done,” she said.
For Costa, however, the robot shows that dental surgery is an advancing science. While robots like the Da Vinci Surgical System have been used in other fields of medicine for years, dentists have been left to freehand all of their work. Costa hopes that won’t be the case in the future.
“I think that people will be looking for ‘hey, who’s the dentist that has the YOMI robot or the next Da Vinci,’ because it’s safer, it’s guaranteed and it’s spot on,” he said.
The YOMI received its approval from the FDA in 2017, but for now, Costa’s practice is one of two in the greater Tenn. area that offers YOMI-assisted surgery. Cornerstone Dental Arts, 8912 Town and Country Circle, Knoxville, already offers the option to its patients. Whether that list will expand remains to be seen.
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