Evaluation of Perception, Knowledge and Attitude regarding the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) amongst Dental Practitioners Practitioning in Nagpur Region: A Cross Sectional Study

Background: Digital assistants like Alexa and Siri have evolved into a regular feature of our life these days. Though the name usually conjures ideas of science fiction, artificial intelligence has a very major future in dentistry. The great growth in patient information and recorded data calls for the use of intelligence software and data computation. Aim and Objective: The aim of this investigation was to assess the perceptions, knowledge, and attitudes of dental professionals in the Nagpur region with respect to the application of artificial intelligence (AI). Study Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the role of Artificial Intelligence among dental practitioners Practitioning in Nagpur Region. A pre-designed, pre-validated questionnaire consisting of 14 questions was distributed to 200 dental practitioners. The survey was administered both personally, using printed questionnaires, and via email. A total of 190 responses were collected. The data was entered into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for analysis, and descriptive statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS version 26. The use of descriptive statistics was utilized in to estimate the percentages of the responses from the participants. A Chi-Square test (X2) was performed to examine the data, where the significant level was set at P < 0.05. Results: Majority of the participants, specifically 93.9%, believed that artificial intelligence (AI) will pose a threat to dentists in the future. On the other hand, 42.4% of practitioners were aware of the applications of AI. Conclusions: The study found that most participants were aware of AI and its applications. The survey solely included Nagpur dentists. Other parts of India or countries with varied technological adoption rates and AI awareness in dentistry may have different results.