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COMMUNITY CASE STUDY article

Front. Oral. Health
Sec. Oral Health Promotion
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/froh.2025.1473877
This article is part of the Research Topic Responsible Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Methods for Equity in Oral Health View all 4 articles

Artificial Intelligence-Produced Radiographic Enhancements in Dental Clinical Care: Provider and Patient Perspectives

Provisionally accepted
Lyubov Slashcheva Lyubov Slashcheva 1,2Kelly Schroeder Kelly Schroeder 3Lisa J. Heaton Lisa J. Heaton 3*Hannah J. Cheung Hannah J. Cheung 3Brenda Prosa Brenda Prosa 1Nicole Ferrian Nicole Ferrian 1Jesse Grantz Jesse Grantz 4Deborah Jacobi Deborah Jacobi 1John J. O'Malley John J. O'Malley 3Michael Helgeson Michael Helgeson 1Eric P. Tranby Eric P. Tranby 3
  • 1 Apple Tree Dental, Corporate Office, Brighton, MN, United States
  • 2 Apple Tree Dental, Fergus Falls Center, Fergus Falls, MN, United States
  • 3 CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, Boston, MA, United States
  • 4 Apple Tree Dental, Fairmont Center, Fairmont, MN, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Artificial intelligence (AI)-based software can be used with dental radiographs to facilitate dental providers' diagnoses and to educate patients about their oral health conditions.The goal of this study was to survey dental providers and patients about the use of AI-enhanced radiographs in the diagnostic and patient education processes.Methods: Within their Community Collaborative Practice model, Apple Tree Dental in Minnesota implemented the use of an AI software platform that annotates carious lesions and periodontal measurements on dental radiographs. Before and after implementation of this software, providers (dentists, dental hygienists, dental therapists, and dental assistants) were surveyed about what benefits and challenges they anticipated and experienced in using the AI software. A small-scale study of patients who viewed AI-generated annotations on their own radiographs examined patient perspectives on the use of this software.Results: Dental therapists reported using the software most often, with 57.2% using the software at least 50% of their clinical time; 79% of dental assistants reported using the software 25% of the time or less. While the majority of providers (n=70 for Survey I; n=53 for Survey II) said that AI enhancements would help facilitate patient education efforts, providers' confidence in the ability of the AI software to improve diagnosis of dental caries and periodontal disease and its ability to improve the efficiency of their work was mixed. Patients (n=25) found reviewing the AI-produced visual aids used by their dental provider to be helpful in understanding their oral health, and a large proportion (92%) said they planned to follow through on recommended treatment.Discussion: While provider and patient perceptions of the use of AI software in dental care are positive overall, attitudes among providers were mixed regarding its effectiveness in diagnosing dental disease and improving work efficiency. More research is needed to determine whether use of AI software in clinical dental practice produces changes in treatment recommendations by providers or in patient adherence to these recommendations.

    Keywords: artificial intelligence, Dental Caries, Periodontal disease, Software, dental providers, dental patients

    Received: 31 Jul 2024; Accepted: 28 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Slashcheva, Schroeder, Heaton, Cheung, Prosa, Ferrian, Grantz, Jacobi, O'Malley, Helgeson and Tranby. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Lisa J. Heaton, CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, Boston, MA, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.