Dentists’ awareness of data security and ethical issues during the transition to artificial intelligence-driven clinical practice

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the awareness levels of actively practicing dentists in Türkiye regarding artificial intelligence (AI)-related ethical issues, data security, anonymization, and legal regulations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey (Google Forms) used a 12-item questionnaire (4 demographics; 8 awareness domains) rated on a five-point Likert scale. Participants were recruited via snowball sampling. Descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests, and one-way analysis of variance with Tukey post hoc tests were applied (p < 0.05). RESULTS: A total of 257 dentists participated. Mean domain scores ranged from 2.97 to 3.13; awareness of ethical issues was highest (3.13 ± 1.44) and perception of encryption lowest (2.97 ± 1.45). No significant gender differences were observed. University hospital dentists reported significantly higher awareness of ethical issues and a greater perceived need for anonymization than other institution types (p < 0.05). For awareness of Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK), scores were higher in university hospitals and private dental polyclinics than in private practices and public hospitals (p < 0.05). Professional experience was associated with differences in perception of encryption, awareness of personal data protection law, awareness of ethical issues, and perceived AI ethical risks (p < 0.05); perception of data security and awareness of big data security did not differ significantly (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Dentists demonstrated varying levels of awareness across domains, with higher awareness reported in academic settings. Experience-related patterns differed by domain, indicating the need for focused educational strategies addressing legal and ethical aspects of AI-supported dental practice.