Ethical considerations for artificial intelligence in dentistry

The incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) is accelerating in the dental field and even patients are catching on to the trend. There is a form of perceived pressure mounting on practitioners to incorporate modern dental equipment and online services to accelerate treatment time or supplement the diagnosis with visual treatment planning. Many of these applications utilise AI as part of the software to process the inserted data. The use of these products in practice presents various ethical dilemmas the clinician would need to mitigate. Practitioners who own or are considering adding applications and equipment that are AI-based to their treatment repertoire have an ethical and legal responsibility to ensure that the best interest and safety of the patient are observed. Patient autonomy and protection of all information become a paramount consideration over and above improving profit or personal gain. By no means could the ethical dilemmas in this communication be exhausted, as the rapid AI innovation and the dynamic nature of technological advances have the potential to raise even more debate. As a fraternity, we need to be vigilant and remain grounded with the basic ethical principles underpinned by autonomy, patient confidentiality/ privacy and the practitioner-patient relationship.