Can AI Replace Dentists?

By Caroline Spice

When I asked ChatGPT this question, here is the conclusion it gave me:

Conclusion: AI will certainly continue to augment and improve dental care by enhancing diagnostic accuracy, improving treatment planning, and automating routine tasks. But it is unlikely to fully replace dentists. The role of AI in dentistry will more likely be one of assistance, helping dentists perform their tasks more effectively, rather than replacing the human judgment, empathy, and skills that are integral to providing comprehensive patient care.

Of course, artificial intelligence (AI) cannot replace a dentist. But since ChatGPT came on the scene at the end of 2022, there’s been a lot of buzz about what it can do. So, what is AI? 

First, artificial intelligence has been around for more than a decade. When we use search engines like Google, Internet Explorer, or Safari, we are using AI.  When we get recommendations from Netflix, Amazon, or YouTube, we are using AI.  When we use language translation apps, or virtual assistants like Alexa, we are using AI. 

What’s different now is the emergence of generative AI. Generative AI applies AI computing technologies to create content based on the underlying data model(s). AI is a large set of technologies that enable computers to perform a variety of advanced functions, while generative AI is the subset of these technologies, which can create content that can mimic human artifacts, like full documents, pictures, recipes, or research protocols.

Generative AI (gen-AI) can produce human artifacts because these tools (ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, Microsoft’s Copilot, Amazon’s Q, Meta’s AI, etc.) are learning from the very large dataset (documents, images, etc.) that is available to it. So, the benefit of using generative AI is the opportunity to tap into an immensely rich resource of information. But with every benefit, there are also risks. 

One risk is that every entry can be integrated into the tool so that it can continually learn because it is a self-learning technology.  For instance, patient information entered into the tool can be integrated into its data. This is especially true for open-source or freely available gen-AI tools like ChatGPT. There is no privacy protection with these free tools. The paid tools may have some protection, but they are not guaranteed.

In addition to private patient information, there is some concern about the loss of intellectual property protections. Creative or novel ideas for how to treat patients that are entered into the tool, through the prompt text, can become available to the larger public. 

Another risk that is posed by gen-AI is the risk of bias. Because these tools are pulling information from a variety of data, they will have inherited biases. For instance, predictions of the future based on historical data that is in the tools data model(s), will be biased against future potential. These risks, privacy protections, and bias are a couple of areas that should be considered when using these tools, free or paid but especially the free versions like ChatGPT.

Finally, the future of these tools holds intriguing developments. Current efforts for multi-modal applications are underway as we speak. For example, the possibility of combining text and image generation could pave the way for the development of custom occlusal guards for a patient’s specific dental structure.

All in all, gen-AI specifically and AI in general, cannot replace the knowledge and wisdom of humans. If we become too reliant on gen-AI to do our work, we cannot grow as learners. In fact, the bias risk inherent in gen-AI data model(s) can hinder societal progress. This is why we need a human-in-the-loop when using any AI.

So, not only can AI not replace dentists, but it can’t replace the human connection that exists between a dentist and their patients.