Attitudes and perceptions of dental students towards artificial intelligence

BACKGROUND: Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming healthcare, including dentistry, through its applications in diagnosis, prosthetic planning, and oral disease detection. As future professionals, dental students play a vital role in integrating AI into clinical practice. However, little is known about their attitudes toward AI, particularly in low-resource settings such as Palestine. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 305 dental students from four Palestinian universities using a validated 22-item questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests (p < 0.05). RESULTS: Among the 305 participants (232 females, 73 males), 77% reported basic knowledge of AI, with social media being the most common source (66.2%). Female students were significantly more likely than males to believe that AI will bring major advancements to dentistry (p = 0.04), and that it can be used for diagnostic (p = 0.030), prognostic (p = 0.045), and treatment planning purposes (p = 0.015), as well as in postgraduate training (p = 0.017). Those with prior AI knowledge or awareness of its dental applications showed greater enthusiasm for its diagnostic use (p = 0.004) and integration into dental education (p = 0.004 and p = 0.009, respectively). CONCLUSION: Palestinian dental students demonstrate strong awareness and positive attitudes toward the use of AI in dentistry. Gender-based differences and ethical concerns emphasize the need for structured, inclusive, and responsible AI training within dental curricula.