DefinePK

Abstract

Objective: To compare the periodontal disease diagnostic performance between general dental practitioners and an AI tool (EBHnow).
Methodology: This comparative observational study was conducted in Islamabad from October 2023 to August 2024 with a sample of 100 general dental practitioners. General dental practitioners working in private dental clinics of Islamabad were included through cluster sampling. Four standard periodontal disease cases accompanied with radiographs and brief clinical histories were used to evaluate and compare the diagnostic performance between the general dental practitioners and EBHnow. Data analysis was done using SPSS 26 and summarized through descriptive statistics including frequencies and percentages. McNemar test and chi-square analysis, were applied to assess diagnostic agreement and associations.
Results: Out of the 100 participating general dental practitioners, only 42% made the correct diagnosis. The highest diagnostic accuracy among general dental practitioners (66.7%) observed for the highest confidence level (5) in contrast, the lowest accuracy (23.1%) was observed for confidence level 2. McNemar test revealed statistically significant difference between the diagnosis made by the dentist and EBHnow across all four cases (p<0.05).
Conclusion: This study concluded that the periodontal disease diagnostic accuracy of the AI tool EBHnow was higher compared to general dental practitioners.