Generative Artificial Intelligence: Applications and Future Prospects in Dentistry

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is rapidly advancing in healthcare and is poised to transform dentistry. Given its increasing adoption in clinical and educational contexts, a comprehensive review is needed to evaluate current progress and future directions. This narrative review investigates its applications, challenges, and prospects. 74 studies from 2020 to 2025 were analyzed, covering various branches of dental medicine. GenAI has shown promise in crown design, tooth alignment, radiographic diagnosis, and educational content generation, using generative adversarial networks, diffusion models, and large language models. However, limitations remain, including insufficient clinical validation, non-standardized datasets, fragmented workflows, and ethical concerns such as data privacy and transparency. Overall, GenAI represents a transformative technology with potential to enhance diagnosis, treatment planning, and education, but continued research and standardized protocols are essential for safe integration.