Generative Artificial Intelligence Innovations in Dental Education: Easing Faculty Workloads

Faculty in dental and health professions education face growing workloads, leading to stress, burnout, and attrition. To address these challenges, Large Language Models (LLMs) were introduced as a generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool to assist with instructional design in a dental curriculum. Supported by an institutional AI seed grant, LLMs were used for lecture preparation, course design, and the creation of assessments. While faculty remained essential in refining AI-generated content for accuracy and relevance, the integration of LLMs reduced time spent on routine tasks inspired creative teaching approaches, and allowed more focus on mentoring and pedagogy. Challenges included addressing inaccuracies and refining prompts, highlighting the importance of faculty oversight and ethical AI use. The pilot program demonstrated that thoughtful AI adoption can enhance efficiency and innovation in dental education, fostering faculty satisfaction and improving educational outcomes.