Will AI replace Orthodontists?
AI reaches some of this job’s work, but most of it stays with people.
20/100
Moderate exposure
More exposed to AI than 35% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 9% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 40% of the work
What the job involves
Examine, diagnose, and treat dental malocclusions and oral cavity anomalies. Design and fabricate appliances to realign teeth and jaws to produce and maintain normal function and to improve appearance.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Already happening(1)
- Prepare diagnostic and treatment records.
Within reach(3)
- 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.
- Provide patients with proposed treatment plans and cost estimates.
- Coordinate orthodontic services with other dental and medical services.
Out of reach(6)
- Diagnose teeth and jaw or other dental-facial abnormalities.
- Examine patients to assess abnormalities of jaw development, tooth position, and other dental-facial structures.
- 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.
- Instruct dental officers and technical assistants in orthodontic procedures and techniques.
and 1 more
Also called
Orthodontist · Board Certified Orthodontist · Orthodontic Dentist · Orthodontic Specialist · Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics Specialist · Orthodontics Doctor · Dental Treatment Coordinator · Dentofacial Orthopedics Dentist
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What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics