---
title: "Will AI Replace Dentists? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates dentists' exposure to AI as moderate. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+5.7% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-dentists"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Dentists? (2026)

**Short answer:** Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow faster than average.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places dentists in its moderate AI exposure category, below the middle of the pack: some of the work overlaps with what AI can do, much of it does not. BLS projects employment to change by +5.7% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 4,200 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Moderate | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 53/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +5.7% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 4,200 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $170,950 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low | 203 |
| Moderate (this job) | 194 |
| High | 190 |
| Very high | 199 |

Exposure means AI could be or has been used to assist with or complete some of the work. BLS says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. Method: https://www.bls.gov/emp/publications/ai-exposure-categories.htm

## What holds up

- Assisting and caring for others: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Performing for or working directly with the public: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Face-to-face discussions: 5.0/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Hands-on work with tools and objects: 4.8/5 (O\*NET work context)

## What AI reaches first

- Documenting/recording information: 4.3/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Repetitive motions: 4.5/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Repeating the same tasks: 4.0/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Getting information: 4.5/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- Use masks, gloves, and safety glasses to protect patients and self from infectious diseases.
- Examine teeth, gums, and related tissues, using dental instruments, x-rays, or other diagnostic equipment, to evaluate dental health, diagnose diseases or abnormalities, and plan appropriate treatments.
- Use dental air turbines, hand instruments, dental appliances, or surgical implements.
- Advise or instruct patients regarding preventive dental care, the causes and treatment of dental problems, or oral health care services.
- Diagnose and treat diseases, injuries, or malformations of teeth, gums, or related oral structures and provide preventive or corrective services.
- Write prescriptions for antibiotics or other medications.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than dentists

- [Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon](https://nuecareer.com/careers/oral-and-maxillofacial-surgeon): BLS exposure Low, median $352,220
- [Prosthodontist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/prosthodontist): BLS exposure Low, median $311,180
- [Nurse Anesthetist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/nurse-anesthetist): BLS exposure Low, median $236,590; [Will AI replace nurse anesthetists?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-nurse-anesthetists)

## FAQ

**Will AI replace dentists?**

Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow faster than average. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to change by +5.7% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 4,200 openings a year.

**How exposed are dentists to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Dentists are in the moderate category, alongside 193 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

**What parts of a dentist's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are documenting/recording information, repetitive motions and repeating the same tasks. The parts that hold up best are assisting and caring for others, performing for or working directly with the public and face-to-face discussions. These come from O\*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

**Is being a dentist a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, dentists score 53 out of 100, higher than 69% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $170,950 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

**What careers similar to dentists are less exposed to AI?**

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon (low exposure, $352,220 median), Prosthodontist (low exposure, $311,180 median), Nurse Anesthetist (low exposure, $236,590 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than dentists, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/dentist.

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology