---
title: "Will AI Replace Orthodontists? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates orthodontists' exposure to AI as moderate. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+6.0% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-orthodontists"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Orthodontists? (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 orthodontists 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 +6.0% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 200 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Moderate | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 49/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +6.0% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 200 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $289,140 | 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

- Face-to-face discussions: 5.0/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships: 4.3/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Performing for or working directly with the public: 4.0/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Hands-on work with tools and objects: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work context)

## What AI reaches first

- Documenting/recording information: 4.1/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Repeating the same tasks: 3.7/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Getting information: 4.1/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Email: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work context)

## O\*NET tasks

- Diagnose teeth and jaw or other dental-facial abnormalities.
- Examine patients to assess abnormalities of jaw development, tooth position, and other dental-facial structures.
- Study diagnostic records, such as medical or dental histories, plaster models of the teeth, photos of a patient's face and teeth, and X-rays, to develop patient treatment plans.
- Fit dental appliances in patients' mouths to alter the position and relationship of teeth and jaws or to realign teeth.
- Adjust dental appliances to produce and maintain normal function.
- Provide patients with proposed treatment plans and cost estimates.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than orthodontists

- [Prosthodontist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/prosthodontist): BLS exposure Low, median $311,180
- [Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon](https://nuecareer.com/careers/oral-and-maxillofacial-surgeon): BLS exposure Low, median $352,220
- [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)
- [Dental Assistant](https://nuecareer.com/careers/dental-assistant): BLS exposure Low, median $48,070; [Will AI replace dental assistants?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-dental-assistants)
- [Anesthesiologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/anesthesiologist): BLS exposure Low, median $391,490; [Will AI replace anesthesiologists?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-anesthesiologists)

## FAQ

**Will AI replace orthodontists?**

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 +6.0% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 200 openings a year.

**How exposed are orthodontists to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Orthodontists 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 an orthodontist'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, repeating the same tasks and getting information. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships and performing for or working directly with the public. These come from O\*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

**Is being an orthodontist a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, orthodontists score 49 out of 100, higher than 59% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $289,140 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 orthodontists are less exposed to AI?**

Prosthodontist (low exposure, $311,180 median), Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon (low exposure, $352,220 median), Nurse Anesthetist (low exposure, $236,590 median), Dental Assistant (low exposure, $48,070 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than orthodontists, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

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

---

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