AI-DRIVEN VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS IN DENTISTRY:ENHANCING PATIENT CARE WORKFLOW EFFICIENCY

Background:Dental practice management demonstrates positive potential through AI-powered virtual assistants
since these systems perform administrative tasks while enhancing patient consultations. Evidence about their effect
in actual dental clinics is still insufficient to measure.
Objective: This observational prospective research measured the outcomes of AI-based virtual assistants on dental
care processes and practice workflow in dental offices.
Methods:The studybase included 168 dental practices which fulfilled the requirements regarding their use and
stability of AI-based virtual assistants. Data collection took place at baseline assessment during Months 0-3 and after
three months during Months 4-6 followed by six months in Months 7-9. The quantitative assessment involved patient
satisfaction ratings as well as treatment success rates and appointment scheduling speeds and time spent handling
administrative duties and the entire workflow efficiency. The study obtained qualitative data by conducting interviews
which underwent thematic analysis.
Results:The patient satisfaction scores together with treatment success rates and appointment scheduling efficiency
and administrative task completion time and overall workflow efficiency improved significantly at both three-month
and six-month follow-ups (p < 0.05). The analysis used regression to show how patients reacted to using AI virtual
assistants but it took into consideration resource duration and practice size and location and starting patient satisfaction scores (adjusted R-squared: 0.573).
Conclusion:AI-powered virtual assistants enhance both dental patient care procedures and clinical workflow
operation in dental offices according to this study. Dental practices can optimize their practical operations while
improving patient satisfaction to determine the proper integration techniques for dental technology in future
developments.