AI is already in our offices, in imaging, in charting, in patient messages, and in treatment planning. Used well, it saves time and catches things we might miss. Used carelessly, it can mislead a patient, expose private data, and probably our worst fear realized- replace clinical judgment.
Here are five rules I use for AI in Periodontics and Dentistry:
1. AI assists. It does not diagnose.
AI can highlight a possible bone loss pattern, suggest a differential, or draft a note. It cannot feel tissue, probe a pocket, test mobility, or see the patient in front of you.
Use AI as a second set of eyes, then confirm with your exam, your radiographs, and your clinical judgment. If AI and your exam disagree, trust your exam until you have proof otherwise.
2. Never put patient-identifiable information into a public AI tool.
Do not paste names, dates of birth, photos, radiographs with identifiers, or full chart notes into a general chatbot. If a tool is not HIPAA-compliant (most are not) and covered by a business associate agreement, treat it as public. Use de-identified examples for learning, and use only approved, compliant tools for real patient work. The same goes for staff and team information as well.
3. Verify every AI output before it reaches a patient.
AI can sound confident and still be wrong. It can invent a guideline, a drug dose, or a citation that does not exist. Check and check TWICE before sending out an AI-generated email, patient instructions, post-op guidance, and treatment explanations. Cross check against current guidelines and your own protocol before you send them.
4. Be transparent with patients and referrals.
If AI helped analyze an image, draft a message, or summarize a plan, you do not need a long disclaimer, but we do need honesty. Tell patients and referrals in plain language, what is you and what is assisted by technology. There is trust in a clinician who says, "I reviewed this myself," far more than a practice that hides the tool. Patients and referrals will better appreciate the cross checking and AI built in.
5. You are the final decision-maker, and document it.
AI does not carry liability. You do.
Document your own findings, your own diagnosis, and your own treatment plan, even if AI drafted the first version. Note where you changed, corrected, or rejected the AI suggestion. That record protects the patient, protects your team, and keeps the standard of care where it belongs: with the clinician.
**Bonus tip: AI can help organize your personal life, too
Use AI to add freedom to your life. Personally, I use AI to draft a weekly schedule, daily plans, organize my to-do list, plan meals, sort ideas, and turn a brain dump into a clear schedule. I allow my AI bots handle the organizing, so I now have more time and mental space for patients, family, and the things that actually need my attention.
My morning 6:02 am prompt looks like this: — my schedule for today, a positive affirmation to start the morning, and any workout class pass I have booked today.
AI will not replace us as dentists, as periodontist, and team members, but It can replace someone who uses it carelessly not carefully.
With Grattitude,
-Dr. Yvette Carrillo
