Artificial intelligence in orthodontics: Where are we now? A scoping review

This scoping review aims to determine the applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that are extensively employed in the field of Orthodontics, to evaluate its benefits, and to discuss its potential implications in this speciality. Recent decades have witnessed enormous changes in our profession. The arrival of new and more aesthetic options in orthodontic treatment, the transition to a fully digital workflow, the emergence of temporary anchorage devices and new imaging methods all provide both patients and professionals with a new focus in orthodontic care.

This review was performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. The electronic literature search was performed through MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane and IEEE Xplore databases with a 11-year time restriction: January 2010 till March 2021. No additional manual searches were performed.

The electronic literature search initially returned 311 records, and 115 after removing duplicate references. Finally, the application of the inclusion criteria resulted in 17 eligible publications in the qualitative synthesis review.

The analysed studies demonstrated that Convolution Neural Networks can be used for the automatic detection of anatomical reference points on radiological images. In the growth and development research area, the Cervical Vertebral Maturation stage can be determined using an Artificial Neural Network model and obtain the same results as expert human observers. AI technology can also improve the diagnostic accuracy for orthodontic treatments, thereby helping the orthodontist work more accurately and efficiently.