ADA Survey Finds 43% of Dentists Using AI, Few for Treatment Decisions

Edited by Dentaltown staff

More than four in 10 dentists use artificial intelligence for at least one task in their practices, but very few use it to recommend treatment, according to survey findings the ADA Health Policy Institute published in July.

In the survey, 43.3% of dentists reported using AI for at least one practice task, and another 26.4% said they plan to adopt it.

Imaging and diagnostics was the most common current application at 22.8%, followed by insurance verification at 13.6% and explaining clinical findings to patients at 13.2%. Roughly 10.7% used AI for social media, and 10.1% used it for business analytics and for reception and front-desk check-in.

Clinical decision-making was the clear exception. Fewer than 5% of dentists said they use AI for treatment recommendations, and 82.6% said they do not plan to. Another 68.3% said they do not plan to use AI to explain clinical findings to patients.

Planned adoption clustered in administrative work. Some 34.8% said they expect to use AI for charting and note-taking, 32.6% for insurance verification, and 25.4% for imaging and diagnostics.

The findings come from a national Health Policy Institute survey of dentists, released alongside the institute’s second-quarter report on the U.S. dental economy.

The ADA is developing a standard for AI “fact labels” that would disclose a model’s intended use, training data, validation methods, performance characteristics, limitations, and appropriate clinical context.

Sources:
ADA Health Policy Institute, “Dentists AI Usage and Attitudes,” July 2026: ada.org/health-policy-institute/dentists-ai-usage-and-attitudes
ADA Health Policy Institute, “The State of the U.S. Dental Economy: 2nd Quarter 2026 Update,” July 2026: ada.org/state_us_dental_economy_q22026.pdf