As products utilizing artificial intelligence rapidly emerge in the orthodontic market, clinicians, educators, and residents are increasingly aware of the challenges of selecting products that perform as promoted and comply with regulatory requirements — without compromising patient safety or privacy. To address such concerns, the AAO has published a position paper, “Responsible Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Orthodontic Clinical Practice.”
This paper, authored by the AAO Task Force on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Orthodontics, provides professional guidance for the responsible development, implementation, and oversight of AI technologies in orthodontic clinical care. While not regulatory in nature, it establishes a framework to support ethical adoption, patient safety, and professional accountability in the integration of AI systems.
The position paper has the following objectives:
1. Preserve professional authority. Ensure that the orthodontist remains the well-informed, educated final decision maker in patient care.
2. Promote transparency in AI development. Emphasize the essential role of developers and vendors in designing, validating, and monitoring AI technologies with transparency, data integrity, and ongoing lifecycle accountability to ensure their trustworthiness in clinical care.
3. Protect patient safety. Establish clear, risk-based recommendations for the responsible clinical integration of AI tools.
4. Establish a principles-based framework. Define an AI governance framework for orthodontics that identifies the orthodontist as the Human-in-Command (HIC) at the point of care and aligns clinical, educational, and regulatory responsibilities across the profession.
These objectives are operationalized through six core principles that collectively guide the responsible integration of AI in clinical orthodontics.
“The Board reviewed the paper and would like to commend the task force’s excellent work addressing the many complexities of the clinical use of AI, including responsibilities of the orthodontist and industry and regulatory entities,” said AAO President Dr. Steven Siegel. “Requirements specific to the orthodontist include alignment with standards of care, ethical and regulatory obligations and compliance with licensure requirements.”
The Task Force on Artificial Intelligence includes Dr. Heather Hopkins (Chair), Dr. Jonas Bianchi, Dr. Lucia Cevedanes, Dr. Jae Park, Dr. Anthony Puntillo, Dr. Mario Tai, and digital dentistry technology experts Ryan Goy, Frank Hemm, and Zelko Relic. Dr. Lisa Alvetro, Chair of the AAO Committee on Technology (CTech), provided oversight.
The position paper is being utilized by AAO Advocacy and member resources will be forthcoming.
View the Paper,
“Responsible Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Orthodontic Clinical Practice.”
