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AI in dental practices: automation and software

Some AI in dental practices now comes inside the practice software: Dentally turns dictation into structured notes, and EXACT integrates Pearl's Second Opinion, which flags findings on each new radiograph. We build the work between those systems: AI where it reads, sorts and drafts, plain automation where the rule is fixed, and a dentist deciding every diagnosis and treatment plan.

In July 2026 the MHRA said a scribe that suggests diagnoses or treatment options is a medical device, while one that only transcribes or summarises for a clinician to review is not. In September 2026 the GDC and other regulators committed to developing shared principles for regulating professionals' use of AI. A 2025 review for the GDC found no UK-based studies of AI in real-world dental care.

Start a projectWhat we would build

Where the time goes

  • Notes after every appointment

    Each appointment needs a contemporaneous, complete and accurate record, with an up-to-date medical history and the treating clinician's name or initials. Recordings of consultations, where they exist, form part of the record, consent discussions are documented, and amendments are clearly marked and dated.

  • Radiographs

    For each X-ray, CQC expects the justification, report and quality score in the record. Under IR(ME)R 2017 a practitioner justifies every exposure, and the employer must take steps to ensure a clinical evaluation of each one is recorded.

  • NHS claims and pathways

    In England, each completed course of treatment must be reported to NHS England electronically within two months, with the patient's charge or exemption: 37.6 million courses in 2025/26. Complex care pathways, from 23 June 2026, use monthly declarations instead; the initial and final ones are due within two months of the pathway's start and completion.

  • Urgent calls

    Since 1 April 2026, most NHS contracts in England for 100 or more UDAs a year carry a required number of urgent treatments. Emergencies need triage within 60 minutes, urgent cases treatment within 24 hours, non-urgent within 7 days. No one may be refused an available urgent slot for lacking an NHS number, GP or permanent address.

  • Recalls

    NICE asks for each patient's recall interval to be set from their risk: 3 to 24 months for adults, at most 12 for under-18s, recorded with the patient's agreement or disagreement. In Wales, the contract in force since April 2026 changes how patients are recalled.

The systems you already run

  • Dentally

    Henry Schein One's cloud practice software, with AI notes from dictation. Its documented REST API covers patients, appointments, recalls, treatment plans and NHS claims, with OAuth scopes and webhooks for appointment, patient and payment events.

  • EXACT (Software of Excellence)

    Tracks UDAs against NHS contract targets, runs automated recalls and integrates Pearl's Second Opinion for radiographs. Software of Excellence handles integrations through its partner programme; we found no public API documentation, so we would ask them first.

  • Aerona

    Cloud practice software for single sites and groups. It lists integrations with imaging software, payment providers and AI reception tools such as ViveoAI and RoboReception. Its API page is password-protected, so access starts with Aerona.

  • Pearl Second Opinion

    Reads each bitewing, periapical and panoramic radiograph as it is captured and highlights up to 18 findings, such as caries and bone loss. Pearl's pages cite US FDA clearances; ask Pearl about its UK status first.

What we would build

  • Notes the dentist signs

    Drafts notes from dictation in your templates and flags gaps, such as a missing medical history update, consent discussion or X-ray report, for the dentist to accept or reject before signing. It never suggests a diagnosis or treatment, which would make it a medical device.

  • A radiograph log for IR(ME)R

    Records who justified, authorised and evaluated each exposure, with its report and quality grade, and flags any still missing a clinical evaluation. Where an AI tool has read the image, its findings stay separate from the dentist's own report.

  • Claim and pathway deadlines

    Lists completed courses not yet claimed and pathway declarations as their deadlines approach, and counts urgent treatments against your contract's required number. In Scotland, it flags planned courses that reach the prior approval thresholds in force from 1 November 2026.

  • Recalls and urgent calls

    Keeps each recall interval and the patient's agreement on record, builds recall lists through your software's API, and logs each urgent call with when it came in and when a clinician triaged it. AI drafts the call summary; the clinician decides the urgency.

Where AI helps

AI should not diagnose, plan treatment or triage on its own. GDC research on AI in dental education (October 2026) found AI least reliable where dentistry depends on images, such as radiographs. IR(ME)R needs a practitioner to justify every exposure.

  • Turning a dentist's dictation into draft notes in the practice's templates, with the dentist editing and signing each one.
  • Reading medical history forms, referral letters and emails into the right patient record, with reception confirming each match.

How we would start

We would start with one surgery's list for a week, from booking to claim: how notes are written, where radiograph justifications, reports and grades are recorded, and how completed courses reach the claim. The first working version would connect to your practice software (Dentally's API, for example), draft notes from dictation for the dentist to edit and sign, and list courses nearing the two-month claim limit.

That first stage, the design and a written scope, typically takes one to three weeks. Like every stage, its price is fixed and agreed before it starts, and you can stop after it. How a project runs

Rules we build around

The software keeps the records these ask for. The duties stay with you.

  • GDC Standards for the Dental Team, principles 3 and 4

    These set the record rules above: contemporaneous, complete and accurate notes with the treating clinician's name or initials, dated amendments and documented consent discussions. The GDC consulted from June to August 2026 on replacing these standards with a Framework for Professionalism.

  • IR(ME)R 2017, regulations 11 and 12

    No exposure without justification and authorisation, and a clinical evaluation of each one recorded under the employer's procedures. The regulations cover England, Wales and Scotland, and CQC enforces them in England.

  • NHS dental contracts, nation by nation

    England: each completed course is reported within two months (GDS Contracts Regulations 2005, Schedule 3, paragraph 38), with urgent-care requirements from 1 April 2026. Scotland: new prior approval rules for courses started from 1 November 2026. Wales: a new contract replaced units of dental activity in April 2026.

  • MHRA: ambient voice technology-enabled products (July 2026)

    Device status turns on intended purpose, including marketing claims; a general disclaimer does not settle it. A tool giving decisive information for a diagnosis should be Class IIa, needing UKCA or CE certification. NHS England asks that users review and approve scribe outputs before further action.

Questions

Our practice software already has AI. Do we need anything else?

Often not. If Dentally's AI notes or EXACT's Second Opinion integration covers the job, buying it is the better answer. We build what sits between systems: claim and pathway deadlines, radiograph logs, recall lists, urgent call logs and forms still handled by hand.

Can dental AI read our radiographs?

Tools such as Second Opinion flag findings on each image for the dentist to review. Research for the GDC on AI in dental education found it least reliable with images such as radiographs, and sees it as a supporting tool, not one to rely on alone. Ask the vendor about UK regulatory status.

Which AI for dentists counts as a medical device?

Under the MHRA's July 2026 guidance, a scribe that transcribes or summarises for the dentist to review is not; one that suggests diagnoses or treatment options is, whatever its disclaimer says. The ICO requires a data protection impact assessment where AI is combined with sensitive data such as patient records.

Does it work outside England?

Yes, built to each nation's rules. Scotland sets NHS items and fees in the Statement of Dental Remuneration, with new prior approval rules from 1 November 2026, and Wales moved to a new contract in April 2026. Private practices register with HIW in Wales and RQIA in Northern Ireland.

Related

Other industries: Veterinary practices, Care homes.

Sources

Every rule, date and figure on this page comes from the sources below, checked on 31 October 2026. Rules change: check anything that matters with the source or your adviser.

The 29 sources

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