Awareness and Perception of Dentists Regarding Role and Future of Artificial Intelligence in Dentistry

Background: Every single field preferred artificial intelligence with great passion and thereby the discipline of dental science is no exemption. Aims: To evaluate the awareness and perception of dentists regarding artificial intelligence among dentists working in Karachi Methods: The current online cross-sectional survey conducted in Karachi during july 2021 . The survey included house officers, post-graduate trainees, and general dental practitioner and specialist consultant dental surgeons of either gender. A questionnaire was adopted from an existing similar study and modifications were made according to our settings. The link of survey was created using Google Docs and disseminated through various open social media groups of dental practitioner in Karachi. Results: Total 118 complete responses were received with almost equal responses from males (n=56, 47.5%) and females (n=52.5%). The mean age of study participants was 30.3 +/- 5.9 years. 83(70.3%) had awareness of the artificial intelligence driven tools in dentistry. 75.9%, 77.1%, 10.8%, 28.9%, 39.8%, 2.4% and 10.8% reported the use of digital intraoral radiographs, CAD-CAM, CBCT, digital dental records, clinical decision support system and none of the tool in their practice respectively. All of the participants had opinion that AI applications should be part of dental trainings. Conclusion: The present survey showed that the majority had awareness of AI applications in dentistry and had positive perception regarding its future role but there was lacking in the utilization rate of AI tools in their practice. Therefore, it is recommended to attend AI trainings to bring and adapt the AI related changes in local settings.