The ADA’s 2026 research found that 43.3% of responding dentists were using AI for at least one practice task, with adoption concentrated in areas such as appointment efficiency, imaging, insurance verification, analytics, and other administrative functions. Fewer than 5% reported using AI for treatment recommendations.
That tells us something important.
Dentists are not waiting for science fiction.
They are using AI where it can reduce friction.
That is probably the right strategy.
A practice with poor workflows can buy AI and still have poor workflows. Automating a broken process simply makes the broken process faster.
The better sequence is:
Define the problem.
Measure the current cost.
Redesign the workflow.
Then determine whether AI improves the economics.
For example, if insurance verification consumes 30 staff hours a week, AI may have a measurable opportunity. If a documentation workflow is repetitive and time-consuming, automation may create capacity.
But the business case still needs to be quantified.
How much time is saved?
What happens to staffing requirements?
Does service quality change?
What is the software cost?
What is the adoption rate?
How often does a human need to intervene?
What is the error rate?
AI should therefore be treated like any other capital or operating investment.
The objective is not to have an AI practice.
The objective is to have a better practice, and AI is one of the tools available to get there.
The strongest dental CEOs will probably not be the ones with the most AI.
They will be the ones who know exactly where AI creates economic value.
AI ROI Worksheet
- Current workflow and labor hours.
- Current error/rework cost.
- AI subscription and implementation cost.
- Expected time savings.
- Human review requirement.
- Quality and compliance controls.
- 90-day success metric.
- Annualized ROI.