Suvendra Vijayan, MS, MPH, BDS, moves through his busy days at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine with his thoughts on an ever-changing future.
As an assistant professor and director of 3D Printing and Advanced Technologies, he explores the furthest reaches of digital dentistry and artificial intelligence, while also getting students excited about its potential.
“New things keep popping up every day, techniques that will be used in dentistry in the near future,” he said. “Today’s dental education must cover all of the advances that are coming down the road. We need to train the students to be ready.”
Dr. Vijayan joined the Pitt Dental Medicine Department of Diagnostic Sciences in July 2018 as an assistant professor in Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology. He was appointed director of 3D Printing and Advanced Technologies in 2023.
“In radiology, I work with patients and teach students to interpret radiographs. But I’m particularly excited about digital dentistry. It’s the technical aspects, like 3D printing and artificial intelligence (AI), that interest me the most,” he said.
How AI is Changing Dentistry
Dr. Vijayan has become an expert on the many ways that digital practices can be incorporated into dental education and modern dental practices.
In March 2025, he spoke at the School of Dental Medicine’s Annual T. F. Bowser Memorial Lecture: A Symposium on Emergent Innovations in Dentistry, the school’s premier continuing education event.
His presentation focused on how advances in machine learning and AI are allowing computers to learn on their own, without explicit programming, and adapt their findings based on experience. He explained that the ability to rapidly extract knowledge and insight from data allows AI to help dentists and their staff do routine tasks faster while maintaining accuracy.
“In radiology, computer-augmented interfaces will analyze dozens of digital dental X-rays and tell us where the caries are. It will do in two minutes what takes a person 10 minutes,” he said. “We still have to review the results, but AI will get better with time, as it trains on the data.”
Dr. Vijayan sees a role for AI in all dental specialties, particularly in treatment planning. He is teaching his students how to use digital x-rays and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) for diagnostic purposes. They can extend the usefulness of these tools with computer-aided design and manufacturing to create digital prostheses for patients. “Of course, a dentist will need to verify that everything is correct, but going forward, AI software will play a major role in our daily planning,” he said.
As students learn, they can practice with digital imaging and software for periodontal bone charting, to place a virtual crown or implant, or to develop a surgical plan.
“Additionally, on the practice management side, AI and digital software will be a big help with scheduling, insurance, and patient records,” Dr. Vijayan said. “But there are a lot of different systems that need to work together. As dentists move from paper systems to digital, they’ll need to receive training to use the data and the new software properly.”
He is certain that these innovations will help dentists and their staff to streamline care, giving them more time to spend on more complex treatments or with additional patients.
His Path to Pittsburgh
When Dr. Vijayan was growing up in India, a career in health care was always on his mind. “I like working with my hands and helping people,” he said. “I felt that dentistry would give me the freedom to explore my interests.”
Once he had his Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree, he went on to study public health at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Later, he completed a residency in radiology at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics, earning a certificate in oral and maxillofacial radiology and a master’s degree in oral sciences in 2018.
“While my expertise is in radiology, I relate well to students because I’m a lifelong student myself. I keep up with advancements that will help them learn and retain information,” he said. “I recently discovered a tool that converts any research paper to a 30-minute podcast that includes a conversation back and forth. It’s very natural.
Dedicated Spaces for Digital Dentistry
In 2023, Dr. Vijayan and his colleague, Dr. Robert Nerone, director of Chairside Digital Dentistry, proposed that the school add three new digital dentistry labs. Together, they worked with Anthony Smith, director of Facilities and Operations, to develop these new spaces.
“Suvendra is very intelligent. We just clicked, and immediately I knew we’d get along,” Dr. Nerone said. “He’s here for the right reasons—for the students—and he’s always willing to help out with a smile.”
As the labs go into full use this fall, Pitt Dental Medicine will have positioned itself as a leader in digital dentistry, giving students more opportunities to explore this field and expanding the curriculum in ways that other schools will emulate in the future.
“Students have access to state-of-the-art equipment and more opportunities to use it. With the larger space, we have a good opportunity to build digital into our curriculum to be more effective and streamlined,” Dr. Vijayan said.
“Our incoming students expect that digital dentistry, 3D printing, scanning, and milling will be part of the curriculum,” he continued. “With current students posting about their projects online, it’s easy for prospective students to see what they want in the school they choose to attend. And we’re already meeting their expectations.”
One of the labs will give students a chance to learn all the aspects of digital dentistry by using dental manikins. Another is for residents to provide patient care. The third will be used by predoctoral dental students in their third and fourth years as they treat dental clinic patients.
However, Dr. Vijayan notes that the curriculum still includes traditional techniques for making impressions. “In the long run, we’ll keep it as an elective for students or residents who may be practicing in areas where intraoral scanners and 3D printers are not available yet. They need to have the flexibility and knowledge that there are multiple ways to do something,” he said.
Building Excitement for 3D Printing
Dr. Vijayan finds interesting ways to generate enthusiasm for 3D printing. “When students in my radiology clinic complete a full set of X-rays without mistakes, they get to choose a small model and have it 3D printed and personalized. It’s inexpensive, they show it to their friends, and more people understand what we are doing and what can be done with 3D printing.”
“I let everyone know that 3D printing is available to make models for any academic need,” he said. “I always invite the students to talk to me about their ideas.”
Dr. Vijayan’s passion led him to become faculty advisor for the digital dentistry student club at Pitt Dental Medicine. The students like to explore new ways to use the 3D printers.
“The Pitt Dental Medicine pediatric department was hosting a holiday toy drive, so we printed toys in Pitt colors that they could give away—a horse, a dinosaur, and an octopus. The filament is so inexpensive and versatile, it lets us spread the word about 3D printing with these types of applications,” he said.
One predoctoral student used the 3D printer to solve the problem of suction tubes falling onto the floor, necessitating a clean replacement tip, at a cost of $5 to $10 each. “He developed prototypes and printed a clamp, which held the tube to the dental chair and cost only a few cents each,” he said.
Recognized for Informatics Research
To stay ahead of the curve, Dr. Vijayan follows research on cone beam CT, 3D printing, and AI/machine learning.
In 2018, he received the Robert H. Ahlstrom New Investigator Award for Dental Informatics Research for his research study: “Reliability of 3D Printed Mandibles Constructed From CBCT Volumes of Different ” Voxel Sizes.” The award highlights ways to improve the quality of patient care and increase efficiency with information technology.
He is also a member of the ADA Standards Committee on Dental Informatics (SCDI) Working Groups on digital imaging, research applications in dentistry, dental information systems security and safeguards, and artificial intelligence.
Dr. Vijayan is impressed with digital simulation computers that provide virtual models and give haptic feedback, in the form of tactile sensations. These computers could help students gain additional practice before they work on real patients. “They’ll be more confident and make fewer mistakes when they enter the clinic the first time,” he said.
The Benefits of Collaboration
“We have a metal 3D printer, which expands our ability to customize dental prosthesis devices. It is housed in and shared with the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. We tap into their expertise on the details of metal printing to research ideas and funding to best utilize it for dental applications,” Dr. Vijayan said.
Pitt Dental Medicine also is working with the University of Pittsburgh Computational Pathology and AI Center of Excellence (CPACE). “We are working with them to bring more AI into the dental school, to identify the resources that are available to faculty and students who want to work with AI,” he said.
“We’ve gotten a lot of support for digital dentistry at Pitt Dental Medicine. We all know this is the future. We have to continue to invest in new technology to benefit our students.”
By Alison Conte