Korean dental hygiene students' perceptions and attitudes toward artificial intelligence: An online survey.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated Korean dental hygiene students' perceptions and attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI) and aimed to identify needs for education to strengthen professional competencies. METHODS: A 24-question online survey was conducted to the dental hygiene students from four Korean schools in 2021. The questionnaire included seven questions on basic characteristics and 17 AI-related questions on the student's attitudes toward AI, the confidence in AI, predictions about AI, and its future prospects. Responses were analyzed according to the frequencies and correlations between the participants' subjective level of knowledge about AI and questions using chi-square test. RESULTS: Invitations were sent out to 1310 students and 800 (61.1%) participated. Note that 44.2% of participants were interested in AI, and 93.1% accessed AI-related information through the internet. Participants expressed lower confidence in AI's diagnosis (14.8%) and judgment (8.1%) than in those of humans, and 21.9% believed AI would replace their job. The proportions of participants with positive perceptions of the usefulness and the potential for improvement of AI in dentistry were 65.5% and 55.4%, respectively. Participants from schools who had existing AI knowledge expressed higher demands for AI-related content as compared to those who did not (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Although dental hygiene students expressed low level of confidence in AI, they were interested in AI and had positive views of its application and potential for improvement. However, the fact they had little AI-related information from dental hygiene curriculum strongly suggests the need for AI-related lectures in schools to prepare for the future.

Double mandibular foramen leading to the accessory canal on the mandibular ramus.

PURPOSE: The knowledge of the variation in the mandibular foramen and canal is clinically significant in surgical procedures of the mandible. This study aims to evaluate the anatomical characteristics of double mandibular foramen leading to the accessory canal on the mandibular ramus using cone beam CT. METHODS: The sagittal, cross-sectional, and three-dimensional images of cone beam CT data from 446 patients were evaluated in the presence of double mandibular foramen and the accessory canal passing through the foramen. The accessory canals were classified into two types according to the configuration (forward and retromolar type), and the location of double mandibular foramen was recorded. RESULTS: The eight double mandibular foramina leading to the accessory canals were observed in six patients out of 446 patients (1.35 % of population). Regarding the configuration of the accessory canal, there were two forward types and six retromolar types. All double mandibular foramina were located above the mandibular foramina on the medial aspect of the mandibular ramus. CONCLUSION: Three-dimensional images of cone beam CT data are useful in confirming the presence of double mandibular foramen leading to the accessory canal. The variation may cause failure in the routine mandibular nerve block anesthesia and it is often vulnerable during surgical procedures involving the mandibular ramus. Also, double mandibular foramen is considered as an easy route for tumor cell to spread following the radiotherapy. Therefore, the variation should be carefully investigated using reconstructed cone beam CT images in planning of dental surgery or radiotherapy in the mandible.