Although artificial intelligence has become an innovative tool for tackling various administrative tasks and delivering patient care, dental leaders must be cautious not to overlook the most critical factor for success: clinicians.
Roshan Parikh, DDS, chief revenue officer at RipeGlobal, recently connected with Becker’s to discuss the growing use of AI and the mistake dental leaders should be careful to avoid.
Editor’s note: This response was lightly edited for clarity and length.
Dr. Roshan Parikh: AI will continue reshaping dentistry in 2026, but we need to be honest about something the industry often overlooks: AI is an amplifier, not a replacement for clinical competence.
The most sophisticated diagnostic AI in the world becomes a liability if the dentist behind the handpiece can’t execute the treatment it identifies. We’re seeing practices invest heavily in AI-powered diagnostics and treatment planning tools, only to discover there’s no return on that investment because their providers lack the chairside confidence and technical proficiency to convert those diagnoses into completed cases.
The dentist remains the center of the practice. That hasn’t changed, and AI won’t change it. What AI does is reveal the gap between what could be treated and what actually gets treated. If a provider isn’t trained up — if they’re not already competent and productive — AI simply unearths more dentistry that goes unaccepted or unperformed. That’s not an AI problem. That’s a readiness problem.
At RipeGlobal, we take the position that clinical excellence has to come first. Get the provider confident in their technical capabilities and chairside manner. Make them optimally productive with the skills they already have. Then, and only then, layer in the technology, and AI that makes them maximally effective.
What I hope to see in 2026 is a more mature conversation about sequencing. The practices that will win aren’t the ones with the most AI tools. They’re the ones that invested in their people first, so that when AI surfaces opportunity, there’s a trained, confident provider ready to act on it.
