LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 18, 2025--
Pearl, the global leader in dental AI solutions, today announced Second Opinion® for Kids, expanding the pediatric capabilities of its flagship radiologic AI platform. This launch marks a pivotal advancement in children’s oral healthcare, introducing a new, kid-friendly interface that builds on Pearl’s proven real-time disease detection capabilities. Building on Second Opinion’s existing pediatric functionality – which helps dentists identify disease in patients as young as four, when treatment is simpler, less invasive, and more effective – Second Opinion for Kids further enhances communication between dentists, parents, and children to support more engaging and educational oral health discussions.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251118786646/en/
“Second Opinion for Kids reflects our commitment to delivering technology that empowers pediatric dentists to intervene earlier, communicate more clearly, and ultimately give children the best possible start to lifelong oral health,” said Ophir Tanz, CEO of Pearl. “As the son of a dentist, I’ve understood from an early age how critical trust and early intervention are in shaping a child’s experience with dentistry. With Second Opinion for Kids, we’re helping dentists meet the clinical and emotional stakes of pediatric care at a time when proactive, evidence-based solutions are more important than ever.”
Pediatric dentistry plays a crucial role in establishing lifelong oral health, yet it presents unique challenges—from young patients’ limited ability to communicate discomfort to the difficulty of earning their trust and cooperation in the chair. Early, accurate diagnosis and clear communication with both children and parents are essential to building those foundations. Second Opinion® for Kids supports that mission by giving dentists a more intuitive, engaging way to visualize and explain findings—helping to reduce anxiety, improve understanding, and foster positive oral health habits from an early age.
Pearl’s industry-leading Second Opinion® platform is an AI-powered, real-time radiologic detection aid that assists dentists by identifying conditions such as cavities, bone loss, and other dental abnormalities with greater accuracy and confidence. With Second Opinion®, practitioners access AI-driven insights within their existing workflow, enhancing diagnostic precision and streamlining patient care.
Pearl’s pediatric care expansion comes at a time when preventative dental care for kids is under pressure. With the FDA removing ingestible fluoride products for children from the market, providers are losing a long-standing tool in the fight against decay. Pearl’s AI offers a new way forward—strengthening diagnostic precision and helping providers safeguard the next generation’s oral health. Thousands of practices across the country already rely on Second Opinion® to support more accurate, consistent diagnoses. To see Second Opinion for Kids in action, schedule a demo at discover.hellopearl.com/second-opinion-for-kids
About Pearl
Pearl is an AI-driven company committed to enhancing patient care in dentistry. Founded in 2019 by a team with decades of experience developing successful, enterprise-grade computer vision solutions, Pearl introduced the first-ever FDA-cleared AI capable of reading and instantly identifying diseases in dental x-rays. With regulatory clearance in 120 countries, Pearl's AI assists dentists in making precise clinical decisions and effectively communicating with patients, thereby transforming the dental care experience worldwide. As dentistry’s global AI leader, Pearl is committed to the ongoing innovation of robust, accessible AI tools that improve patient health outcomes and build greater trust in dental medicine. To request a demo, please visit hellopearl.com/getdemo
AI-powered ‘sugar bug’ cavity detections in Second Opinion® for Kids give parents and young patients a clearer, friendlier view of dental findings, improving education and boosting confidence in recommended treatment.
With Pearl’s Second Opinion® for Kids, dentists can show AI-detected ‘sugar bugs’ directly on dental X-rays, helping children understand where cavities are forming and why treatment matters.
Second Opinion® for Kids displays AI-detected cavities as "sugar bugs", making it easier for dentists to explain oral health to young patients.
BAGHDAD (AP) — An American journalist who was kidnapped in Baghdad had tried to cross from Syria into Iraq three weeks earlier and was initially turned back, an Iraqi official said Wednesday.
U.S. and Iraqi officials said Shelly Renee Kittleson had also been warned of threats against her in the days before her abduction. A freelance journalist who has worked for years in Iraq and Syria and was described by those who knew her as deeply knowledgeable about the region and the communities she covered, Kittleson was kidnapped from a street in the Iraqi capital Tuesday and remains missing.
Hussein Alawi, an adviser to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, said Kittleson had sought to enter via the al-Qaim crossing from Syria on March 9 but was turned back because she did not have a press work permit and because security concerns due to “the escalation of the war and aerial projectiles over Iraqi airspace as a result of the war on Iran.”
She later entered the country after obtaining a single-entry visa to Iraq valid for 60 days issued to allow foreign citizens stranded in neighboring countries to “transit through Iraq to reach their home countries via available transport routes,” he said.
Kittleson entered Baghdad a few days before she was kidnapped and was staying in a hotel in the capital, he said.
“The incident is being followed closely by Iraqi security and intelligence agencies under the supervision of” al-Sudani, Alawi said. He noted that one suspect believed to be involved in the kidnapping plot has been arrested and is being interrogated.
Iraqi security forces gave chase to her captors and arrested one suspect after the car he was driving crashed, but other kidnappers were able to escape with the journalist in a second car.
An Iraqi intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment, said Iraqi authorities believe she is being held in Baghdad and are trying to locate her and secure her release. He said authorities “have information about the abducting party” but declined to give more details.
U.S. officials have alleged that Kittleson was taken by Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-linked Iraqi militia that has been implicated in previous kidnappings of foreigners. The group has not claimed the kidnapping and the Iraqi government has not publicly said anything about the kidnappers' affiliation.
The Iraqi intelligence official said that prior to Kittleson's abduction, Iraqis had contacted U.S. officials to notify them that there was a specific kidnapping threat against her by Iran-affiliated militias.
Dylan Johnson, U.S. assistant secretary of state for public affairs, said on X Tuesday that the “State Department previously fulfilled our duty to warn this individual of threats against them.”
A U.S. official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said, “She was contacted multiple times with warnings of the threats against her," including as late as the night before the kidnapping.
Kittleson’s mother, 72-year-old Barb Kittleson, who spoke to The Associated Press at her home in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, said she heard about the kidnapping from a news report on Tuesday and was visited by the FBI at her house on Tuesday night.
When asked how she felt about the kidnapping she said, “Terrible. Scared. I’ll pray for her.”
Barb Kittleson said she last exchanged emails with her daughter on Monday. Shelly Kittleson sent photos of herself from Iraq, her mother said.
“Journalism is what she wanted to do so bad,” Barb Kittleson said. “I wanted her to come home and not do it, but she said, ‘I’m helping people.’”
Surveillance footage from Baghdad that was obtained by the AP shows what seems to be the moment the journalist was kidnapped. It shows two men approaching a person standing on a street corner and ushering the person into the back of a car. There appears to be a brief struggle to shut the car door before the men get into the vehicle and it drives away.
Iran-backed militias in Iraq have launched regular attacks on U.S. facilities in the country since the beginning of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Bauer reported from Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
The street corner in central Baghdad's Saadoun Street where U.S. journalist Shelly Kittleson was kidnapped in central Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, April 1 2026. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban)
U.S. journalist Shelly Kittleson poses for a cellphone photo in a cafe in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo)
U.S. journalist Shelly Kittleson poses for a cellphone photo in a cafe in Baghdad, Iraq, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo)
A street view shows the street corner in central Baghdad's Saadoun Street where U.S. journalist Shelly Kittleson was kidnapped in central Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, April 1 2026. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban)
A street view shows the street corner in central Baghdad's Saadoun Street where U.S. journalist Shelly Kittleson was kidnapped in central Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, April 1 2026. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban)
