Will AI Replace Real Dentists? Dr. Falk Schwendicke Opinion

Even some of the most conservative dental specialists cannot ignore the rapid expansion of AI these days. Management, diagnostic, and treatment software powered with modern learning models demonstrates notable effectiveness in practice. Thus, it's not surprising that many healthcare (and other technological industries) workers are worried about whether these algorithms can replace them in the future.

This exciting topic was among the key subjects of our recent NextDental Podcast episode with the participation of leading industry experts:

Dr. Khalil Karam is a prominent enthusiast in digital dentistry and an experienced specialist in the dentofacial field (and a talented author on Remedico Newsfeed!)
Prof. Falk Schwendicke is a scientist focused on AI implementation in digital healthcare practices, including dentistry.

Together, these experts explored a broad list of topics related to this sophisticated technology, and in this review, we'll briefly explore the key points regarding today's question: whether AI can take over clinicians' jobs?

The true role of AI

The key issue of misunderstanding the "replacing issue" stems from overestimating the AI functionality and purpose. Despite the visible power of these tools that people observe in generative AI, such as video-avatar simulators, voice clones, and other similar programs that have a notable "domestic" impression, artificial intelligence in healthcare and dentistry in particular is different.

In medicine, these tools help and enhance particular doctors' functions – to create an alternative opinion, not to substitute the operator. For instance, existing diagnostic software focuses doctors' attention on problematic places, decreasing the human mistake factor, and enhancing the overall effectiveness of the check-up process.

Undoubtedly, AI will increase its presence in practice, but the technology will organically enter our cabinets, without disrupting the dentistry labour market, and pushing regular specialist away from their jobs.

This technology will evolve in the same way that CAD/CAM software already does. The CAD/CAM field has grown in dental labs and become a separate industry focused on advanced computer modeling. As we can see now, this technology did not cause a disaster in dentistry – practitioners only benefit from it. In all "incarnations", the AI develops similarly – it was created to assist, not replace us.

The doctor's indispensability

Another reason why AI technology will not take away dentists' jobs is that it just can't do so. The role of a clinician is so complicated and versatile that even the most advanced software can't handle even a small portion of it. Diagnostic and treatment AI can detect where the potential problem is located on an oral scan, but the dentist makes the final diagnosis and treatment. It's hard to imagine a country with such specific laws and a clinic with such "innovative" treatment standards that can fully entrust patients' health to algorithms. There are too many risk factors, including a high probability of AI biases, and too much complexity to standardize it across the world (or at least one continent).

Still, even more critical for healthcare is that AI can not establish the proper communication required for effective treatment presentation and obtaining informed patient consent. Unique doctors' experience in the conversation, their ability to feel whether patients understand the need for treatment, and personal psychological approaches in communication are irreplaceable by any artificial intelligence, at least at the modern stage of the technological process.

Additionally, doctors are often involved in different aspects of practice, including some administrative and management tasks, making the "biological" clinicians even more critical for clinics. None of the existing AI can combine the whole list of dentists' responsibilities; thus, practitioners do not need to worry – at least for near future.

AI is your friend

However, doctors should think about how they personally can enhance their regular duties by implementing AI technology. Diagnostic and treatment software requires training to learn how to use it properly, along with different courses, webinars, master classes, etc. Every piece of knowledge is essential in that rapidly evolving field, and you need to keep abreast of its recent developments if you want to be a really competitive specialist.

The main complication related to AI is that the technology significantly enhances the "natural selection" in the profession: the most conservative specialists who reject adopting technology will become less and less productive compared to their more technologically advanced colleagues.

This trend is inevitable because various existing AI tools offer significant benefits, cutting your work time waste: diagnostic tools highlight the dental problems on radiographs, billing, and communication software automates your administrative tasks, and so on. The more aspects of the technology you can implement into your workflow, the more working hours you can save and then invest them into professional education or add some extra visits to your schedule.

Want to know more about recent AI-related trends?

If so, watch the entire NextDental Podcast episode with Dr. Khalil Karam and Prof. Falk Schwendicke on our YouTube channel, where experts broadly discussed this topic. And read related insightful articles on our Newsfeed:

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