Mechanized Dentistry

Now, Soon, Later.

Robot-assisted implants are real now. Restorative automation is early. A fully autonomous robot dentist is still later stage and mostly speculative.

Today

Yomi-style implant robotics are commercially real, regulated, and dentist-operated.

Soon

Restorative automation is early, but narrow crown-prep prototypes show where the workflow may go.

Later

Planning, admin, and workflow automation are likely to arrive before anything like a general robot dentist.

Chronology

Key milestones that show how robot dentistry actually developed: first the implant platform, then restorative prototypes, then an outlook shaped by costs and regulation.

  1. 2016

    Neocis receives the first FDA clearance in the Yomi lineage

    FDA clears the Neocis Guidance System, the predecessor to the current Yomi platform, for dental implant surgery.

    RegulatoryCommercial
  2. 2020

    Full-arch implant treatment enters the cleared workflow

    Neocis expands Yomi's cleared use to full-arch implant treatment with a new edentulous splint attachment.

    RegulatoryImplants
  3. 2022

    Bone reduction is added to the Yomi platform

    The cleared workflow now includes guided bone reduction or alveoloplasty, extending Yomi beyond implant placement alone.

    RegulatorySurgery
  4. 2024

    Large clinical series shows high implant placement accuracy

    A prospective series of 108 patients and 273 implants reports mean angular deviation of 1.42 deg and signed depth deviation of 0.14 mm.

    ClinicalEvidence
  5. 2024

    Perceptive reports the first in-human restorative robot procedure

    The company describes a first automated restorative case in Barranquilla, Colombia, signaling the start of crown-prep robotics in humans.

    PrototypeRestorative
  6. 2025

    First in-human semi-automated crown-prep study lands as a preprint

    The preprint reports six completed patients, no adverse events, and 39 um RMS deviation from the planned preparation.

    FeasibilityRestorative
  7. 2025

    Yomi S receives FDA clearance

    Neocis clears its second-generation platform with voice commands, touchscreen control, and a more streamlined implant workflow.

    RegulatoryNext-gen
  8. 2026

    Yomi crosses 100,000 robotic osteotomies

    Neocis says the platform has surpassed 100,000 osteotomies and that the first real-world Yomi S cases have been completed.

    ScaleImplants
  9. 2026+ Later

    Broad autonomy is still a later-stage possibility

    The plausible near-term path is better planning, more workflow automation, and narrower restorative autonomy before anything like a general robot dentist.

    InferenceOutlook
    Based on current evidence
Bottom line: the field is moving from guidance, to narrow automation, to possible partial autonomy. The jump from "robot helps the dentist" to "robot replaces the dentist" is still a long one.