A Narrative Review of Teledentistry in the AI Era: Scope, Opportunities, and Future Prospects in India

Teledentistry has evolved from pilot programs and COVID-19 adaptations into a clinically validated component of modern oral healthcare. In India, where access to dental care remains severely limited in rural populations, the convergence of teledentistry with artificial intelligence (AI) offers an urgent opportunity to reduce the burden of oral diseases. This narrative review examines the modalities and clinical evidence for teledentistry; awareness profiles and adoption barriers among Indian dental professionals and students; the diagnostic capabilities and readiness landscape for AI in dentistry; and the prospects, challenges, and implementation frameworks for AI-teledentistry integration in India. Evidence supports the diagnostic validity of synchronous and asynchronous teledental platforms for caries screening, oral lesion triage, and community surveillance. AI tools, including convolutional neural networks, large language models, and AI-generated educational content, enhance diagnostic accuracy, patient education, and resource optimization. However, formal training deficits, rural infrastructure gaps, limited oral health digital initiatives, and the absence of national regulatory frameworks remain critical barriers. A coordinated policy response that integrates AI into the dental curriculum and is supported by equity-centered implementation research is required.