A Patient-Centered Perspectives and Future Directions in AI-powered Teledentistry

This scoping review investigates the integration of AI into teledentistry with a focus on patient-centered perspectives and future directions. Teledentistry has progressed rapidly in the COVID-19 pandemic period, providing remote dental care by means of digital communication technologies.The introduction of AI has made diagnosis more precise, treatment planning more personalized, and processes more efficient and have also made dental services better accessible to the underserved. AI algorithms help in early diagnosis of dental issues, provides customized treatment plans, and improve patient outcomes. Despite the advantages, still many challenges exist. These are ethical concerns, data privacy issues, and regulatory hurdles that prevent widespread adoption. Use of AI in dental settings results in patients having mixed sentiments surrounding trust and data security arising out of fear of having   reduced   personal interactions with providers. Additionally, AI driven teledentistry is not validated in large scale clinical setting and cost effectiveness assessment which undermines scalability. This review identifies gaps in existing research and provides guidance for how patient-centered applications further facilitate increased transparency, AI education, and cross-disciplinary collaboration among dentists, computer scientists, ethicists, and policymakers. The future research should include clinical validation, economics, and ethical standards to make AI teledentistry use responsible and inclusive. This scoping review equips clinicians and researchers with a roadmap for responsible, patient-centered implementation of AI-enabled teledentistry, offering practical strategies and insights to enhance the quality and accessibility of remote dental care.