Dental Protection has called on the General Dental Council (GDC) to consider developing guidance on the professional expectations associated with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in dentistry.
In its response to the GDC consultation on replacing the ‘silver book’ with a new professionalism framework, Dental Protection welcomes the expectation that dental professionals should understand their responsibilities when using technology to support practice, but says its members would benefit from greater clarity in this area.
Dental Protection also calls for ethics and patient interests to be explicitly stated in the framework, and highlights the need for clear regulatory expectations.
Dr George Wright, Dental Director at Dental Protection, said: “As AI is increasingly used to support clinical practice, communication, administration and practice promotion, dental professionals would benefit from greater clarity about how the existing professionalism principles and expectations apply when using it.
“In particular, the GDC should consider clarifying expectations concerning professional accountability, the continued exercise of independent professional judgement, appropriate scrutiny of AI-generated information and the need for registrants to understand the limitations of the systems they use.
“Additionally, a recurring theme is that registrants need clarity about what is mandatory, what is guidance, and where professional judgement can be exercised. Our concern is that open-ended expectations may create uncertainty for dental professionals.
“Regarding ethics, the word ‘ethical’ should feature within the principles. Professionalism in dentistry is fundamentally built upon an ethical framework and without this explicit language the proposed principles lack a defining area of healthcare professionalism.”
The consultation into the Framework for Professionalism closed on 31 August 2026 and Dental Protection’s full response can be accessed here.
