Do UK Dentists Use AI?

Yes, many UK dentists already use AI, though probably not in the way you’d expect. Most of it sits in the practice’s software: booking systems, reminder texts, note-taking tools and, increasingly, programs that look at your X-rays and flag possible problems. Fewer practices use it to make decisions, and none can legally hand your diagnosis to a machine. A registered dentist is still responsible for every item on your treatment plan.

This matters if you’re holding a quote and wondering whether to trust it. If AI helped spot the decay your dentist wants to fill, you’re allowed to ask about it. And if you plan to paste the plan into ChatGPT yourself, it helps to know what the dentist’s software already did and where your own AI check can still add something.

For the wider picture of where AI turns up across dental care, from chatbots on practice websites to aligner planning, the pillar guide AI at the Dentist covers it all. This page sticks to one question: is AI involved in UK dentistry right now, and what does that change for you as a patient?

Where AI actually shows up in a UK practice

No official body publishes a figure for how many UK practices use AI, so be wary of any article quoting a precise percentage. What we can say is which tools exist, which are sold here, and what they do.

X-ray software is the row that matters most to you. Programs like Diagnocat and Pearl overlay coloured boxes on a radiograph with labels such as “caries”, “periapical lesion” or “calculus”. The dentist looks at those marks, agrees or disagrees, and writes the plan. The software is a second pair of eyes. It doesn’t give a final verdict.

Smile simulation is the other one worth knowing about. If a private practice showed you a preview of your teeth after straightening or veneers, it was made by software that predicts the result. Those previews are sales tools as much as clinical ones. The real result depends on your bite, your gums and how well you wear your aligners.

The rules a UK dentist has to follow when using AI

Three sets of rules apply.

The MHRA regulates diagnostic software as a medical device. An AI tool that analyses X-rays to suggest a diagnosis has to carry UKCA or CE marking before it can be sold for clinical use in Great Britain. If your dentist uses one, it’s fair to ask whether it’s marked. A general chatbot like ChatGPT has no such approval for diagnosing anything, which is one reason your dentist won’t (or shouldn’t) use it to read your X-rays.

The General Dental Council holds the dentist personally responsible. The GDC’s Standards for the Dental Team have no exemption for “the software said so”. If an AI tool flags a shadow as decay and the dentist drills a healthy tooth, the dentist answers for it. The same standards require valid consent, so you should get a clear explanation of why each item is on your plan, whoever or whatever first noticed the problem.

UK GDPR covers your data. Your X-rays, scans and notes are health data, a special category under data protection law. If a practice sends images to a cloud-based AI service, its privacy notice should say so. You can ask for copies of your records, including X-rays, through a subject access request. It’s free in almost all cases, and the practice normally has one month to respond.

Has AI changed what your treatment costs?

Not directly. On the NHS in England you pay a fixed band charge however the problem was found. From 1 April 2025 the charges were:

Charges usually change each April, so check nhs.uk for this year’s figures. Scotland works differently: you pay 80% of the itemised fee, capped at £384 per course of treatment. Wales and Northern Ireland have their own charges as well.

So if AI X-ray software spots three small cavities instead of one, your NHS Band 2 bill stays at £75.30. Privately, it’s a different story. Each filling is billed separately, so more findings means a bigger bill.

That’s where honest questions come in. Some research on AI X-ray tools shows they catch early decay that people can miss, and that’s a good thing. But catching very early decay doesn’t always mean drilling. Lesions confined to the enamel can often be watched, treated with high-fluoride toothpaste, or sealed. If a private plan lists several fillings for “early” decay, ask whether monitoring is an option.

A worked example: checking a private plan with ChatGPT

Say you’re 42, you live in Leeds, and after a new-patient exam at a private practice you’ve been handed this:

The dentist mentioned their software had “picked up” the two smaller fillings. Here’s a prompt you could paste into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. Take out your name, date of birth and the practice’s details first; the AI doesn’t need them.

I'm a UK adult with no dental training. A private dentist has given me
this treatment plan:

- Exam + 2 bitewing X-rays: £85
- Composite filling UR6: £180
- Composite filling LL7: £180
- Composite filling LR5: £150
- Root canal treatment LL6 (molar): £850
- Porcelain crown LL6: £795
- Hygienist: £75
Total £2,315. Practice is in Leeds.

The dentist said AI software on the X-rays flagged the UR6 and LR5
cavities as early decay.

Please:
1. Explain each item in plain English, including the tooth notation.
2. Tell me whether each fee is low, typical or high for private
   dentistry in northern England, and say how confident you are.
3. List questions I should ask about the two AI-flagged fillings,
   including whether monitoring is a reasonable alternative.
4. Tell me which of these items would be covered by NHS Band 2 or
   Band 3 in England, and what I'd pay instead.
5. Flag anything you can't judge without seeing my X-rays.

A good answer will translate “UR6” as the upper right first molar, explain that the crown usually follows the root canal because a root-filled back tooth becomes brittle, and point out that the whole plan would come under a single NHS Band 3 charge of £326.70 if you could find an NHS place. It should also say plainly that it can’t tell whether your early decay needs filling, because it hasn’t seen the images.

That last point is the real limit. ChatGPT can sanity-check prices and terms. It can’t see what Diagnocat or Pearl saw on your radiograph, and if you upload the X-ray image yourself, a general chatbot isn’t approved to read it and may confidently get it wrong. Use your AI to sharpen your questions, not to settle the clinical argument.

On price, the fees above all fall within the typical range for UK private dentistry outside London: roughly £100 to £250 per white filling, £500 to £1,200 for a molar root canal and £600 to £1,100 for a crown. Nothing in this example looks inflated. What’s worth questioning is the clinical need for the two smaller fillings, which together add £330.

Questions to ask your dentist about AI

You don’t need to sound suspicious. Most dentists who’ve paid for AI software are happy to talk about it. Try these:

1. “Did any software help find the problems on my plan, and which items?”
2. “Can you show me on the X-ray what it marked, and what you saw yourself?”
3. “For the early decay, what happens if we wait six months and re-check?”
4. “Is the software UKCA or CE marked?”
5. “Are my X-rays sent to an outside company, and where is that stored?”
6. “Can I have a copy of my X-rays to take for a second opinion?”

Question six is the most useful in practice. Bitewing X-rays are small digital files, and another dentist can look at them without taking new ones and exposing you to more radiation. Some practices charge a small admin fee for copies; under a subject access request they normally can’t.

When AI involvement should make you look elsewhere

AI in a practice isn’t a red flag on its own. A few patterns are:

• A dentist who can’t explain a finding beyond “the system flagged it”. The GDC expects them to own the diagnosis.
• A smile preview used to push you to commit on the day, often with a “today only” finance offer.
• A long private list of fillings for “early” or “watch” lesions with no mention of monitoring or fluoride.
• Reluctance to release your X-rays when you ask for a second opinion.

If any of these happen, getting a second opinion costs an exam fee (around £50 to £120 privately, or a £27.40 Band 1 charge on the NHS if you can get an appointment). On a £2,000-plus plan, that’s money well spent.

What AI won’t do at your dentist

It won’t drill, prescribe or sign off your plan. It won’t decide whether you get NHS or private treatment. That depends on what the practice offers and whether they have NHS capacity, and AI has nothing to do with the NHS access problem in many parts of England. It also won’t replace the conversation you’re entitled to about risks, alternatives and the option of doing nothing.

What it can do, at its best, is make the dentist’s eyes a little sharper and your questions a lot better. The software on their screen and the chatbot on your phone both work best when there’s a person on each end checking the results.