Knowledge, attitude, and perception of orthodontic students, and orthodontists regarding role of artificial intelligence in field of orthodontics-An online cross-sectional survey.

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) is an emerging technology in orthodontics. The objective of this survey was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and perception (KAP) of orthodontists and postgraduate students regarding the plausible employment of AI within the realm of orthodontics.

Methods: An observational, cross-sectional, online questionnaire survey was conducted with 440 participants (264 postgraduates and 176 faculty members). The questionnaire was divided into four domains: Part A, focused on sociodemographic characteristics, Part B (eight questions) identifying the basic knowledge of the participants about the use of AI in the field of orthodontics, Part C (six questions) assessing the participants' perceptions of the use of AI, and Part D (five questions) assessing the attitudes of participants towards AI. The KAP scores of the participants regarding the use of AI in the field of orthodontics were assessed using a three-point Likert scale for 17 questions and two multiple-choice questions. Responses were analyzed using the chi-square test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Mann-Whitney test.

Results: A total of 266 participants completed the survey, and the majority agreed with the use of AI in the field of orthodontics, particularly for 3-dimensional diagnosis of orthognathic surgeries, cephalometric analysis, and prediction of treatment outcomes. Most participants felt that AI training should be incorporated into the postgraduate curriculum (73%), and were willing to incorporate it into clinical practice (74%). Barriers to the use of AI were high costs, lack of technical knowledge, and lack of awareness. The participants' KAP scores showed a weak negative correlation with age, years of experience, and designation.

Conclusion: The present study concluded that most of the participants were optimistic about the future of AI in orthodontics. Although most orthodontists and postgraduate students had knowledge of AI, there were many barriers to its use in the field of orthodontics.