A study on the attitudes and awareness of dental students at Trakya University regarding the use of artificial intelligence in dentistry

This study aims to obtain information that will contribute to the process of incorporating artificial intelligence into education and clinical practice by measuring students' knowledge levels and approaches to the use of artificial intelligence in dentistry. This thesis study measured the knowledge and awareness levels of Trakya University dentistry students in their 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th years regarding the use of artificial intelligence in dental practice. The number of students included in the study was 460. The survey consists of three sections that measure participants' general knowledge levels about artificial intelligence, their approaches to the future use of artificial intelligence in dental practice, and their opinions on the use of artificial intelligence in dental education. The survey consists of 20 single-choice questions. %61,5 of the participants stated that they had basic knowledge about the use of artificial intelligence in dentistry, while 77.4% expressed their desire to use artificial intelligence in their future professional lives; this desire was found to be significantly higher among individuals who found the clinical use of artificial intelligence to be reliable (p<0.001). 77.8% of students believe that artificial intelligence will increase the speed of learning in education, and a statistically significant relationship was found between this belief and their attitudes toward the necessity of using artificial intelligence in education (p<0.001). Although the participants' knowledge levels regarding the use of artificial intelligence in dentistry were not advanced, they were willing to use artificial intelligence in their future clinical practice and dental education. Further studies evaluating a broader and more diverse sample group are needed. Keywords: artificial intelligence, dental education, awareness