• Why the current lack of AI regulation in dentistry has led to lawsuits and compliance nightmares
• How a global coalition of healthcare professionals is creating the first ethical standards for dental AI
• The surprising reason dentists are now positioned at the forefront of predictive medicine
• Why AI could eliminate trillion-dollar insurance middlemen and what that means for your practice
• How to position yourself as a leader in ethical AI adoption rather than scrambling to catch up

The Health Intelligence Board is particularly significant. This is where representatives from regulatory bodies, health ministers, and governance organizations will sit down to propose global standardization for AI. The goal is to create a seal of approval for organizations that adhere to established policies around data safety, patient equity, and regulatory compliance.

Here is something most dentists do not fully appreciate: you are positioned at the absolute forefront of AI-powered predictive medicine.

Think about it. Your patients come to see you twice a year, minimum. You update their medical records regularly. You have consistent touchpoints that most medical specialties simply do not have.

“As dentists now in predictive analysis, we’re in the forefront of medicine, not the other subspecialties,” Dr. Shah said. “These patients come to us twice a year at least and we update their medical records. And with AI, we can predict things about their future health status.”

This creates an enormous opportunity. AI tools can analyze patterns across your patient data to identify early warning signs of systemic health issues. Gum disease correlating with cardiovascular risk. Oral manifestations of diabetes. Sleep apnea indicators visible in dental structures.

But it also creates enormous responsibility. If you are going to be on the front lines of predictive healthcare, you need to understand how to implement these tools ethically. You need governance frameworks that protect both your patients and your practice.

Dr. Shah raised a provocative idea during the conversation that deserves serious consideration.

For approximately 3,000 years, healthcare was simple, involving a doctor, a patient, and whatever tools or technology existed at the time. Then, about 50 years ago, third parties inserted themselves into the equation. Insurance companies. Clearing houses. Administrative intermediaries. Management companies.

“All of the solutions that they provided in the last 50 years are our problems today,” Dr. Shah observed.

Now consider what AI could do. Verification of x-rays. Automated claims processing. Direct communication between doctors and government payers or employers. The entire administrative infrastructure that currently siphons trillions of dollars from the healthcare system could theoretically become obsolete.

“If somebody designed a nice app that essentially did all the work that they claimed to do with verifications of x-rays, with verifications of things with the government, they would become obsolete,” Dr. Shah said. “If you made the insurance industry obsolete, you would suddenly have trillions of dollars on the table that would be for patients and doctors.”

This is not going to happen overnight. But it illustrates why the stakes around AI governance are so high. The organizations currently benefiting from healthcare complexity have every incentive to slow down or capture AI regulation for their own benefit. Doctors need to be at the table writing the rules, or someone else will write them.

Here is the fundamental tension in dental AI right now. The market is being driven by sales, not by ethics.

Someone develops a concept in their basement. They go to market. If they can sell it, they attract funding. Growth becomes the priority. Patient safety and compliance become afterthoughts, if they are thoughts at all.

“This is the problem with all of these AI companies and third parties,” Dr. Shah said. “All they got in their mind is how can I profit, profit, profit. But when you have doctors engaged in these type of topics and discussions, they have the Hippocratic oath in the back of their mind. They’re not going to do something that they know is just a plain violation of everything we stand for.”

This is why doctor-led governance matters. Software developers and tech companies have different incentives than healthcare providers. They are optimizing for growth metrics, not patient outcomes. They are answering to investors, not to licensing boards.

The only way to ensure AI development serves patients and practitioners is to put doctors at the center of the governance conversation.

So what will these governance frameworks actually include? Based on the Health Intelligence Board’s objectives, expect standards addressing several key areas:

Data Safety How patient information is stored, transferred, and protected. What encryption standards apply. How long data can be retained. Who has access and under what circumstances.

Patient Equity Ensuring AI tools do not create or amplify disparities in care. Addressing bias in training data. Making sure benefits are accessible across different patient populations.

Regulatory Compliance Clear guidelines for how AI tools interact with existing HIPAA requirements. Frameworks for new situations that current regulations do not address.

Certification and Vetting A seal of approval for AI products that meet established standards. A way for dental practices to identify tools they can trust.

Oversight and Accountability Who is responsible when an AI system makes an error? How are problems reported and addressed? What recourse do patients have?

These standards will not emerge overnight. But the London summit represents the first serious attempt to create them through doctor-led collaboration rather than waiting for government agencies or legacy organizations to catch up.

You do not have to wait for the summit to start thinking about ethical AI implementation in your practice. Here are practical steps you can take now:

Audit Your Current AI Tools What AI-powered software are you already using? Do you understand how it handles patient data? Have you reviewed the privacy policies and terms of service? Many practices are using AI without realizing it because it is embedded in their practice management systems.

Ask Better Questions of Vendors When evaluating new AI tools, ask specifically about data handling. Where is patient information stored? Is it used to train models? Who has access? If vendors cannot give you clear answers, that is a red flag.

Document Your Decision-Making Keep records of why you chose specific AI tools and what due diligence you performed. If compliance issues arise later, documentation of good-faith efforts matters.

Stay Informed on Governance Developments Follow organizations working on AI standards. Subscribe to publications like AI Medent that focus on healthcare AI developments. The regulatory landscape will evolve rapidly over the next few years.

Consider Attending the Summit If you have the opportunity, the London summit offers direct access to the people shaping AI governance. The connections made in that closed environment could prove invaluable as standards emerge.