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Jayde Balderston
Henry Schein Content Strategist
Jayde Balderston
Henry Schein Content Strategist

This blog explores how UK dental professionals feel about AI in dentistry, using insights from Henry Schein’s Trusted Partner Report to look at the benefits, challenges, and practical ways AI can support responsible, human-centred practice workflows.

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Key Takeaways

  • AI in dentistry is gaining momentum, but dental professionals remain divided on how and when it should be used, with concerns around human oversight, training, integration, cost, and patient data privacy.
  • AI can support dental teams with diagnostics, admin, documentation, patient communication, and practice management insights.
  • AI should be used as a supporting tool, not a replacement for clinical judgement or the patient-clinician relationship.
  • Henry Schein can help dental practices explore AI-enabled equipment, software, services, and expert guidance tailored to their needs.

What are the benefits of using AI into your dental practice?

  • AI-Assisted Diagnostics: While AI should not be used for diagnosis alone without clinical input and human oversight, it can be used alongside professional diagnosis to provide supporting data and earlier detection by highlighting patterns that may be hard to spot with the human eye alone.
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  • Workflow Efficiency And Consistency: AI tools can streamline existing workflows, and can be especially useful for admin-related tasks – freeing up time for more hands-on patient care and allowing dental teams to focus on high-value, human-centric tasks.
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  • Better Patient Communication And Compliance: Explaining complex dental conditions and treatment options in a patient-friendly manner can be a challenge, but AI can help by providing visual tools and simplified explanations, improving patient understanding and long-term compliance, and helping you maintain patient trust.
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  • Data-Driven Practice Insights: Using AI analytics, you can identify trends within your practice for everything from cancelled appointments to stock management. This in turn can help your practice run more smoothly, and allow you to plan ahead with more clarity.
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“How can AI help me with practice management and insights?”


With over half of dental professionals citing ‘time pressures’ as one of their biggest challenges, and many saying admin is the most time-consuming aspect of their role1, one thing is certain: practice management software can be transformative when it comes to streamlining your practice workflow.


Dentally’s fully cloud-based dental practice management software utilises AI functionality for patient education and the recording of clinical notes, as well as allowing easy access to patient records for improved treatment planning, incorporating communication tools to keep staff and patients connected, and offering real-time reporting for managing finances – all for improved task assignment and time management.
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Teledentistry
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Dentally, the dental software solution for stress-free dentistry
Dentally brings together clinical, practice admin and patient experience features in the cloud, removing friction and helping practices run with confidence.
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“How can I use AI to improve patient communication?”


Dentistry is human centred at its core, so it’s no surprise that an overwhelming majority of dental professionals say their patients are the most enjoyable part of their role.1 Over half agree that AI tools can be beneficial for improving patient communication1, by simplifying treatment plans and diagnoses into less clinical, more patient-friendly language.


Henry Schein can support practices with technologies that help patients see what clinicians see, making conversations clearer and more collaborative, and strengthening patient-clinician relationships. What’s more, their improved website features comprehensive guides and articles on trending topics, providing unique, up-to-date insights that you can share with your patients.


Henry Schein Dental Blog
Explore the Henry Schein dental blog – your trusted source for the latest UK dental news, clinical insights, and product guidance.
“What additional support can Henry Schein provide me when it comes to incorporating AI into my dental practice?”


Henry Schein are more than just a dental supplier: they are a long-term practice partner, dedicated to supporting their customers throughout their dental career, from purchasing their first practice to retirement. 


As a Henry Schein customer, you will be allocated a local rep whose core role is to provide you with expert guidance, to encourage growth and innovation within your dental practice. If you are looking to incorporate AI technology into your dental practice, your Henry Schein rep or Equipment Specialist can guide you through the best options to suit your practice’s unique needs, instilling confidence in your purchase.


Taking The Next Steps Towards AI In Dentistry


To further explore Henry Schein’s huge range of advanced equipment, and to discuss with a dedicated Henry Schein rep which AI solutions would be the best fit for your practice, contact us here.


To discover more unique insights from UK dental professionals, download the full Henry Schein Trusted Partner Report today.
Shopping With Henry Schein
Learn why dental professionals across the globe choose Henry Schein as their trusted healthcare solutions provider, for more than just dental supplies.
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The Trusted Partner Report
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FAQs
AI is being used to support areas such as dental imaging analysis, treatment planning, clinical documentation, practice management, reporting, and patient communication. It can help highlight patterns, simplify information, and streamline administrative tasks, while allowing dental professionals to remain responsible for clinical decisions.
No. AI should support dental professionals, not replace them. It can provide useful insights and improve efficiency, but clinical judgement, patient trust, communication, and human oversight remain essential to safe and effective dental care.
AI can help practices save time, improve workflow consistency, support earlier detection through imaging tools, simplify patient explanations, and provide data-led insights into practice performance.
Practices should consider training needs, integration with existing systems, return on investment, data privacy, compliance, and the level of human oversight required. Starting with one clear use case, such as documentation, imaging, or patient communication, can make adoption more manageable.