Innovating dental diagnostics: ChatGPT's accuracy on diagnostic challenges.

Abstract

Complex patient diagnoses in dentistry require a multifaceted approach which combines interpretations of clinical observations with an in-depth understanding of patient history and presenting problems. The present study aims to elucidate the implications of ChatGPT (OpenAI) as a comprehensive diagnostic tool in the dental clinic through examining the chatbot's diagnostic performance on challenging patient cases retrieved from the literature. Our study subjected ChatGPT3.5 and ChatGPT4 to descriptions of patient cases for diagnostic challenges retrieved from the literature. Sample means were compared using a two-tailed t-test, while sample proportions were compared using a two-tailed χ2 test. A p-value below the threshold of 0.05 was deemed statistically significant. When prompted to generate their own differential diagnoses, ChatGPT3.5 and ChatGPT4 achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 40% and 62%, respectively. When basing their diagnostic processes on a differential diagnosis retrieved from the literature, ChatGPT3.5 and ChatGPT4 achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 70% and 80%, respectively. ChatGPT displays an impressive capacity to correctly diagnose complex diagnostic challenges in the field of dentistry. Our study paints a promising potential for the chatbot to 1 day serve as a comprehensive diagnostic tool in the dental clinic.