AI-assisted workflow could help dentists develop software

Fraser Macdonald, Dental Tribune International

Wed. 1. July 2026

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MUNICH, Germany: Clinical practice, research and education often require specialised software tools that are too niche for commercial vendors or are not covered by freely available software. Artificial intelligence (AI) is now lowering the barriers to developing such tools. A new technical innovation report describes how AI-assisted software development enabled a clinician without formal programming training to develop applications addressing specific gaps in digital dentistry. The report also provides resources to help clinicians use AI to create bespoke software.

The authors adopted a structured five-step workflow: identifying an unmet clinical, research or educational need; describing in plain language what the software should do; using AI tools to generate code; testing and refining the software; and preparing documentation and making the code available for others to inspect, use or adapt. For code generation, the authors employed four forms of AI assistance, ranging from chat interfaces for large language models to more complex systems that combine multiple AI services.

To demonstrate the workflow, the authors developed three applications. VirtualEndo Converter converts CBCT-derived STL files for augmented and virtual reality visualisation. MeshComparisonTool provides quantitative 3D morphological comparisons. DentalEmergencyTrainer simulates dental trauma emergency telephone calls to support undergraduate education. Each application took 22–32 hours to develop, and all three were made publicly available with their source code.

The report argues that AI-assisted coding allows dental professionals to translate their own domain knowledge and clinical requirements directly into functional code, reducing reliance on commercial vendors or lengthy exchanges with software developers. However, the authors emphasise that AI-assisted coding does not replace software engineering expertise. Developers must still evaluate code quality, security and maintainability, and any clinical deployment would require validation and regulatory assessment.

Importantly, the applications are presented as research and educational prototypes. The report therefore supports AI-assisted development as a route to functional prototyping, not as a replacement for validated clinical software.

The report also supports broader recommendations that generative AI competencies should become part of dental education. For clinicians, this would mean not only learning to use AI tools but also developing, critically evaluating and safely implementing emerging AI technologies within appropriate clinical, research or educational contexts.

Overall, the report suggests that AI-assisted software development could democratise innovation in digital dentistry by enabling clinicians to rapidly prototype specialist applications that commercial vendors may not pursue. Nevertheless, rigorous validation and appropriate governance remain essential before such tools could be integrated into clinical practice.

The paper, titled “AI-assisted software development in digital dentistry: A technical innovation report with three open-source applications”, was published online on 26 June 2026 in the Journal of Dentistry, ahead of inclusion in an issue.