Course Summary:  This course is designed for dental hygienists and other oral health professionals who want to understand how artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance preventative hygiene care, streamline workflows, and support infection control practices. Participants will explore how AI tools can assist in periodontal risk assessment, calculus detection, patient education, digital record-keeping, and compliance with sterilization protocols. Emphasis will be placed on practical clinical integration, ethical considerations, and how AI can complement — not replace — the hygienist’s role.

Learning Objectives: 

• Explain core concepts of AI (machine learning, neural networks, pattern recognition) and how they relate to dental hygiene practice.
• Identify current AI tools and technologies applicable to periodontal assessment, calculus detection, risk stratification, and oral health monitoring.
• Demonstrate how AI can support infection control and decontamination workflows, including monitoring compliance, tracking sterilization data, or analyzing patterns of contamination.
• Integrate AI into patient education and motivation, using visual analytics, personalized feedback, and predictive modeling to enhance adherence.
• Discuss ethical, privacy, and regulatory considerations related to AI in dental hygiene, including data security, algorithmic bias, and patient consent.
• Develop a plan for incremental implementation of AI tools into the hygiene workflow, assessing cost, staff training, validation, and quality control measures.