Introduction
One of the major advances in science and technology is artificial intelligence (AI). There are many ways to define AI, but Kaplan and Haenlein's definition of it as the system's ability to accurately understand external data, to learn from that data, and to use it to achieve specified goals and tasks through flexible adaptations is the best. AI is being used in a wide variety of contexts throughout our daily lives.1, 2
In addition, a lot of individuals are unaware that AI is a component of the majority of the items they use on a daily basis. AI, for instance, is crucial to autonomous driving and parking of vehicles. Smart email responses and smart maps, which we use daily to get to our many destinations, are two further instances that merit addressing. Although humans are the most intelligent animals we are aware of, when it comes to pattern identification, robots are thought to be superior since they can employ more data dimensions. This process is known as machine learning (ML). 3
In dentistry, the use of AI programs in clinical settings has grown in popularity, particularly in diagnostic imaging, which benefits recent dental graduates. Among other analogous tasks, AI systems enable the auto-segmentation of the inferior alveolar nerve, the investigation of facial growth, the tracing of cephalometric landmarks, the detection of caries, alveolar bone loss, and periapical pathosis. Studies show that AI is increasingly being employed in the diagnosis and planning of treatment for a variety of orofacial illnesses, as well as in the early detection of mouth cancer and cervical lymph node metastases. 4
It can be used in educational dentistry for pre-clinical duties like tooth preparation and arrangement, for behavior management of worried youngsters, and for direct treatment by surgical robots.5 Future artificial intelligence-based technologies will lighten the load on teachers and lower the price of education. 6
Hence the present questionnaire based study was conducted among the dental students of a dental college to assess their knowledge, attitude and practice towards artificial intelligence.
Materials and Methods
The present questionnaire based cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among dental students of dental colleges of Jammu & Kashmir for a period of one year. The permission for commencement of study was obtained from the institutional ethical committee.
A total of 600 subjects including dental students were sent online a pre-validated questionnaire link via social media websites (WhatsApp groups), along with a short note explaining the purpose of the study and informed consent. The questionnaire consisted of 15 close ended items, broadly divided into 3 sections. Participants were asked to select one option from the answers provided against each question. The questionnaire was sent to every student, considering low response rate in online survey. After excluding the incomplete forms the total forms left to be counted in the study was 540.
Collected data were compiled in a master Excel sheet 2007. Statistical analysis was done by using the software SPSS 23.0(IBM) version. Chi square test was done to check the association and a ‘p’ value was set at >0.05 as significant.
Results
The demographic data of participants is shown in Table 1. The numbers of dental students in third year were more in number as compared to other years (40%).
Table 1
Demographic data of participants
|
Study participants |
Percentage |
|
|
Dental undergraduates |
First year |
13% |
|
Second year |
16% |
|
|
Third year |
40% |
|
|
Final year |
12% |
|
|
Interns |
19% |
|
|
Total |
100% |
|
Discussion
Over the past two decades, the field of artificial intelligence has grown and made great advancements. AI applications are expanding towards medicine and dentistry as a result of recent advancements in digitalized data acquisition, machine learning, and computing infrastructure. AI is being examined for a variety of purposes, including the identification of normal and abnormal structures, the diagnosis of diseases, and the prediction of treatment outcomes. 7 This Google questionnaire-based study evaluated the KAP among the 540 dentistry students in Jammu & Kashmir, India, with relation to the future of AI.
There was a remarkable knowledge of artificial intelligence among the students. More than 60% of students know the use of AI in health care devices. More than 50% of dental students know the use of technology in dentistry. Comparisons with studies in various parts of India, like in Chennai about 59% of the study participants were aware which was similar to present study 5 and in Telangana study conducted by Asmatahasin M et al 8, 9 revealed 89.63% of students were aware of the term AI which was higher. The comparison with international outlook, was in concordance to our study, in Turkey reported by Yuzbasıoglu E et al 3 among dental students, only 48.40% were familiar; and in Saudi Arabia author concluded that 49.9% had basic knowledge about the AI. 8
The percentage of participants who thought AI helps in clinical decision making were 70 %. The percentage of respondents who thought AI improved doctor patient relationships were 42%. More than 70 % of the participants thought that AI can be used for radiographic diagnosis of tooth caries and rest of participants disagreed. 50% of the participants chose AI is used in interpreting complicated radiographic scans, 30% of participants chose direct treatment. Around 70 % of the participants thought AI has a future in dentistry in India. These all results were similar to study done by Sadeep et al where students show positive attitude and practical nature towards the use of artificial intelligence.10 According to Mupparapu et al 11, the goal of AI may not have been to replace medical professionals, but dentists could profit from the extra luxury of a second opinion in nanoseconds thanks to AI technologies that could support the diagnosis and ultimately help patients.
The availability of online learning programmes, social media and other broadcasting media, as well as the development of communication technology, can all be attributed to the increased understanding and use of AI. 12, 13, 14, 15
Our research shows that survey respondents were aware of the idea of AI and agreed that it might be applied to dentistry. Therefore, in order for dentistry students to better comprehend AI and its applications, seminars, lectures, and workshops must be organized.
Table 2
hows the response of study participants towards knowledge, attitude and perception part of questionnaire. Some of the results were statistically significant value of p less than 0.05.
It is vital to pique dental students' interest in learning about AI and its possible future uses as a new technology because they lack fundamental knowledge of the field. Participants emphasized the importance of including fundamental AI concepts in dentistry school curricula.
Conclusion
Within the constraints of this study, it is clear that the majority of dental students are familiar with artificial intelligence and its applications in dentistry. This study has significant implications for dental students' education and awareness of artificial intelligence and its applications in dentistry.
Article DOI
