Can Artificial Intelligence Substitute Dental Public Health Expertise? A Competency-Based Analysis Across Core DPH Domains

IF 1.8 4区医学 Q2 DENTISTRY, ORAL SURGERY & MEDICINE

Journal of public health dentistry Pub Date : 2026-09-06 Epub Date: 2026-06-14 DOI:10.1111/jphd.70065

Shaikha AlDukhail

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly integrated into public health and dentistry, with a range of applications. While these developments raise questions about efficiency and scalability, uncertainty remains regarding whether AI can substitute for Dental Public Health (DPH) expertise. This paper aims to distinguish between AI-amenable and fundamentally human DPH competencies.

Methods

An analytical framework was applied to the 10 dental public health (DPH) specialty competencies. Current AI applications reported in the health literature were mapped across competencies including program management, systems evaluation, ethical decision-making, surveillance system design, communication, collaboration and leadership, policy advocacy, evidence appraisal, research, and integration of social determinants of health.

Results

AI demonstrated strong technical capacity across data-intensive and analytical competencies, including program management, systems evaluation, surveillance design, evidence appraisal, research, and integration of social determinants of health. These domains were classified as augmentable, as AI enhanced data integration, pattern recognition, and operational efficiency when accompanied by appropriate human oversight. In contrast, competencies grounded in ethical decision-making, communication, leadership and collaboration, and policy advocacy were identified as irreplaceable, as they require moral judgment, contextual interpretation, professional accountability, and relational engagement beyond current AI capabilities.

Conclusions

The findings support the use of AI as a complementary tool in DPH while affirming that the specialists remain indispensable for governance, equity, public accountability, and strategic decision-making in population oral health policy and practice. Competency frameworks, accreditation standards, and workforce development efforts should explicitly define the appropriate role of AI while reinforcing the primacy of human judgment and ethical leadership in population oral health practice.

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人工智能能否取代牙科公共卫生专家？跨核心DPH领域的基于能力的分析。

背景：人工智能（AI）越来越多地融入公共卫生和牙科领域，应用范围广泛。虽然这些发展提出了有关效率和可扩展性的问题，但人工智能是否可以替代牙科公共卫生（DPH）专业知识仍然存在不确定性。本文旨在区分人工智能和基本的人类DPH能力。方法：采用分析框架对10项口腔公共卫生（DPH）专业能力进行分析。卫生文献中报告的当前人工智能应用涵盖了规划管理、系统评估、伦理决策、监测系统设计、沟通、协作和领导、政策倡导、证据评估、研究和健康社会决定因素整合等能力。结果：人工智能在数据密集型和分析能力方面展示了强大的技术能力，包括规划管理、系统评估、监测设计、证据评估、研究和健康社会决定因素的整合。这些领域被归类为可扩展的，因为人工智能在适当的人为监督下增强了数据集成、模式识别和操作效率。相比之下，基于道德决策、沟通、领导和协作以及政策倡导的能力被认为是不可替代的，因为它们需要超越当前人工智能能力的道德判断、上下文解释、专业问责制和关系参与。结论：研究结果支持将人工智能作为DPH的补充工具，同时肯定专家对于人口口腔卫生政策和实践中的治理、公平、公共问责制和战略决策仍然不可或缺。能力框架、认证标准和劳动力发展工作应明确界定人工智能的适当作用，同时加强人类判断和道德领导在人口口腔健康实践中的首要地位。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of public health dentistry 医学-公共卫生、环境卫生与职业卫生

CiteScore

3.80

自引率

4.30%

发文量

审稿时长

6-12 weeks

期刊介绍： The Journal of Public Health Dentistry is devoted to the advancement of public health dentistry through the exploration of related research, practice, and policy developments. Three main types of articles are published: original research articles that provide a significant contribution to knowledge in the breadth of dental public health, including oral epidemiology, dental health services, the behavioral sciences, and the public health practice areas of assessment, policy development, and assurance; methods articles that report the development and testing of new approaches to research design, data collection and analysis, or the delivery of public health services; and review articles that synthesize previous research in the discipline and provide guidance to others conducting research as well as to policy makers, managers, and other dental public health practitioners.