AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Dentists, General?

Task-level automation exposure for Dentists, General: 20 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

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Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

21% weighted task index

20 of 20 tasks scored

Median Salary

$170,950 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

High

124,390 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

+5.7% employment change

4,200 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 48 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$107,560 – $230,990

Highest medians

Alaska $230,990

North Dakota $220,660

Minnesota $219,200

Tennessee $215,290

Oregon $211,690

Lowest medians

Puerto Rico $107,560

Wyoming $123,830

Idaho $124,190

Utah $133,320

Kentucky $134,160

State figures come from the 29-1021 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.

What the score is made of

Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.

Automation potential 21%

Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.

Physical work 22%

Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.

Judgment & influence 80%

Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.

Routine administration 3%

Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.

Rewritten by O*NET 0%

Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.

Consequence of error 72/100 High

O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.

Constituent Task Mix

20 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.

High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 3%

1 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 21%

4 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 76%

15 tasks

How would you survive?

Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.

Simulate Upskilling →

Emerging & rewritten tasks

Tasks O*NET added or rewrote for this occupation in its recent updates (05/2025 – 08/2026), with who proposed them. Additions are not in the scored task inventory — they are new work O*NET is still measuring, so they appear here and nowhere in the index. A Revision replaces a task that is scored, which is why only those move the "Rewritten by O*NET" share.

New 08/2026 · Incumbent

Place or restore dental implants.

Constituent Tasks

#20562 · Core · 10% automatable

Use masks, gloves, and safety glasses to protect patients and self from infectious diseases.

physical manipulation — Physically applying safety equipment to people

Protect patients or staff members using safety equipment.

#6925 · Core · 4% automatable

Administer anesthetics to limit the amount of pain experienced by patients during procedures.

physical manipulation — Anesthesia administration is high-risk hands-on clinical act

Administer anesthetics or sedatives to control pain.

#6926 · Core · 17% automatable

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.

physical manipulation — Diagnostic instruments applied to patients by hand

Examine mouth, teeth, gums, or related facial structures. Operate diagnostic or therapeutic medical instruments or equipment. Operate diagnostic imaging equipment.

#6927 · Core · 38% automatable

Formulate plan of treatment for patient's teeth and mouth tissue.

decision support — Medical plans need exam, liability, and clinical judgment

Develop medical treatment plans.

#20563 · Core · 20% automatable

Use dental air turbines, hand instruments, dental appliances, or surgical implements.

physical manipulation — Diagnostic instruments applied to patients by hand

Operate diagnostic or therapeutic medical instruments or equipment.

#6930 · Core · 16% automatable

Design, make, or fit prosthodontic appliances, such as space maintainers, bridges, or dentures, or write fabrication instructions or prescriptions for denturists or dental technicians.

decision support — AI assists concepts; device design requires regulatory and physical testing

Design medical devices or appliances. Fabricate medical devices. Adjust prostheses or other assistive devices.

#6929 · Core · 55% automatable

Advise or instruct patients regarding preventive dental care, the causes and treatment of dental problems, or oral health care services.

decision support — Preventive advice needs patient-specific clinical judgment

Advise patients on preventive care techniques.

#6931 · Core · 17% automatable

Diagnose and treat diseases, injuries, or malformations of teeth, gums, or related oral structures and provide preventive or corrective services.

visual inspection — Dental diagnosis needs imaging and clinical exam

Diagnose dental conditions. Treat dental problems or diseases.

#20564 · Core · 25% automatable

Manage business aspects such as employing or supervising staff or handling paperwork or insurance claims.

interpersonal — Patient care supervision is live clinical leadership

Supervise patient care personnel.

#6934 · Core · 55% automatable

Analyze or evaluate dental needs to determine changes or trends in patterns of dental disease.

decision support — Treatment goals need clinical accountability and context

Analyze patient data to determine patient needs or treatment goals.

#6938 · Core · 11% automatable

Remove diseased tissue, using surgical instruments.

physical manipulation — Diagnostic instruments applied to patients by hand

Operate diagnostic or therapeutic medical instruments or equipment. Operate on patients to treat conditions.

#6933 · Core · 22% automatable

Write prescriptions for antibiotics or other medications.

decision support — Prescribing medications is licensed high-stakes judgment

Prescribe medications.

#6939 · Core · 4% automatable

Apply fluoride or sealants to teeth.

physical manipulation — Dental procedures require manual dexterity

Treat dental problems or diseases.

#6936 · Core · 4% automatable

Eliminate irritating margins of fillings and correct occlusions, using dental instruments.

physical manipulation — Dental procedures require manual dexterity

Treat dental problems or diseases.

#6937 · Core · 2% automatable

Perform oral or periodontal surgery on the jaw or mouth.

physical manipulation — Surgery is physical and high-accountability

Operate on patients to treat conditions.

#6932 · Core · 4% automatable

Fill pulp chamber and canal with endodontic materials.

physical manipulation — Dental procedures require manual dexterity

Treat dental problems or diseases.

#6942 · Core · 35% automatable

Plan, organize, or maintain dental health programs.

decision support — Drafts health program design; implementation and buy-in human

Design public or employee health programs. Direct healthcare delivery programs.

#6941 · Core · 4% automatable

Bleach, clean, or polish teeth to restore natural color.

physical manipulation — Dental procedures require manual dexterity

Treat dental problems or diseases.

#6935 · Core · 4% automatable

Treat exposure of pulp by pulp capping, removal of pulp from pulp chamber, or root canal, using dental instruments.

physical manipulation — Dental procedures require manual dexterity

Treat dental problems or diseases.

#6943 · Supplemental · 75% automatable

Produce or evaluate dental health educational materials.

text generation — Draft healthcare training; clinician reviews accuracy

Prepare healthcare training materials.

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Community Sentiment

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Do you agree with the AI automation risk score calculated for this occupation?

Method

How this was scored

1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.

Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.

Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast

See the full method →

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