Most of the talk about AI in dentistry is about reading radiographs. Dr. James Younger argues the bigger win is at the front desk: coverage checks, paperwork and practice analytics, so your team has more time for patients.
Short answer: Use AI to take admin work off your front desk, not to make clinical calls. 55% of Canadian dentists use no AI for admin work, yet coverage checks, first drafts of preauthorizations and claim notes, and pulling lists from your practice software are low-risk wins: a mistake costs ten minutes, not a tooth. Ask your front desk what eats their day, time that task, and call your current software vendor before buying something new.
In October 2026 the CDA put out its first real report card on the CDCP, and a few numbers jumped out at me. Half of complete preauthorization requests get denied. Six in ten patients thought their care would be free. And an Ottawa dentist said out loud what a lot of us have been thinking: the extra paperwork is making the staffing shortage worse.
Think about who actually deals with all of that. It’s not the dentist. It’s the person at your front desk.
So you’d think that’s where AI would show up first. It isn’t.
Here’s my take: use AI tools to free up your front desk, so they have time for the wow moments, the little things that delight patients and that only a personal touch can provide.
Everyone’s talking about the X-ray
In a 2026 survey of 300 dentists in Canada, the US and the UK, 82% of the dentists who use AI use it to read radiographs. That’s also where the worry is. In the ADA’s July 2026 survey, 82.6% of US dentists said they don’t plan to let AI recommend treatment.
As a practicing dentist, I agree with them. A second set of eyes on a radiograph is useful. It isn’t a diagnosis, and I wouldn’t want it to be. If you use it, keep one rule: the dentist reads first, then checks what the software flagged, and the chart shows the dentist made the call.
The real win is giving your front desk better tools
Here’s what gets lost in that debate. In Oral Health’s survey of Canadian dentists, 55% use no AI at all for admin work. Only 11% use it actively.
Let me be clear about what I mean, because this is where people get nervous. I’m not talking about replacing your front desk. Your front desk person knows which patient is anxious, which family always books together, and who needs a reminder call instead of a text. Software can’t do that, and it shouldn’t try.
I’m talking about giving that person tools that take the grind off their plate:
- Coverage checks. Eligibility and insurance verified before the patient arrives, so your team isn’t on hold all morning.
- Paperwork. A first draft of the preauthorization or the claim note that your team reviews and sends, instead of writing it from scratch.
- Practice analytics. This is the one most offices miss. Your practice software is full of data nobody has time to dig through. AI can pull it out in minutes: patients who haven’t been back in 18 months, who’s overdue for recall, how many new patients you’re seeing each month, where your open hygiene time is next week. Your office manager gets the list. Your office manager makes the calls.
A mistake in any of those costs ten minutes, not a tooth. And every hour your team gets back is an hour they spend with patients instead of paperwork.
What to do about it
- Ask your front desk what’s eating their day. Do this before you look at any new tool. They already know where the hours go. Pick the one task they’d most like help with, and time it for two weeks. In that 2026 survey, 40% of dentists who dropped an AI tool did it within three months. If you don’t know how long a task takes today, you won’t know whether the tool helped.
- Start with your own numbers. Ask your office manager to pull three lists: patients overdue for recall, patients who haven’t been in for 18 months, and new patients by month for the last year. If that takes them a day, that’s the job AI should help with first.
- Call your software vendor before you sign with a new one. AI is moving into the practice management systems most offices already pay for. Ask what’s coming in the next 12 months and what it will cost. The tool you’re about to buy may show up in your next update.
Heads up: five things coming at your front desk
As of October 2026.
1. Millions of last year’s CDCP patients aren’t enrolled this year. (Canada) 6.5 million people were enrolled for 2025-26. For 2026-27, it’s 4.7 million so far. Sun Life also reminded offices on September 29, 2026 that coverage can change mid-year after a tax reassessment. Do this: ask every CDCP patient whether they renewed when you book, and check coverage before each visit, not once a year.
2. The CDA’s fix list for the CDCP is out. (Canada) Of more than 30 recommendations, the top three are preauthorization, patient confusion and the workforce, including loan forgiveness for dental assistants. Do this: keep a simple log of every denied preauthorization and the reason given. If the rules change, you’ll know which patients to call back.
3. Recording a patient visit with AI comes with privacy rules. (BC, Ontario) Both privacy commissioners published guidance on AI scribes in January 2026, and Alberta has its own. BC’s is clear: patients can say no, and you stay responsible for what your vendor does with the recording. Do this: ask the patient before anything records in the operatory, and ask the vendor where recordings are stored and for how long.
4. FDA cleared doesn’t mean licensed in Canada. (Canada) Most dental AI is built for the US market first. Do this: before you sign, ask the vendor for its Health Canada licence number, or look the product up in Health Canada’s Medical Devices Active Licence Listing.
5. CDT 2027 brings 67 code changes on January 1. (US) That includes 28 new codes, covering implants, interim dentures and orofacial pain. Do this: update your software and train the front desk in December, not the week claims start bouncing.
One question for you
If your front desk got an hour back every day, what would you want them doing with it?
Frequently asked questions
Mostly for radiographs. In a 2026 survey of 300 dentists in Canada, the US and the UK, 82% of dentists who use AI use it to read radiographs. For admin work, Oral Health’s survey of Canadian dentists found 55% use no AI at all and only 11% use it actively.
Three low-risk places to start: checking eligibility and insurance coverage before the patient arrives, drafting preauthorizations and claim notes for your team to review and send, and pulling lists from your practice software, such as patients overdue for recall, patients not seen in 18 months and new patients by month.
Dr. James Younger’s rule: the dentist reads the radiograph first, then checks what the software flagged, and the chart shows the dentist made the call. AI is a useful second set of eyes, not a diagnosis.
FDA clearance does not mean a product is licensed in Canada. Before you sign, ask the vendor for its Health Canada licence number or look the product up in Health Canada’s Medical Devices Active Licence Listing.
In BC, privacy guidance published in January 2026 says patients can say no, and the practice stays responsible for what the vendor does with the recording. Ontario and Alberta have their own guidance. Ask the patient before anything records in the operatory.
No software replaces the people in your practice
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