June 2026
“So what’s the plan for these discussions?”
I remember hearing that question while walking with colleagues through the congressional office buildings on United States Capitol Hill before one of several briefings for the United States House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees on oral healthcare delivery for Veterans.
It was one of those mornings where the conversations began long before anyone entered a conference room. We were moving between buildings, carrying briefing materials, reviewing talking points, and discussing what we hoped to accomplish during the meetings ahead. Around us, congressional staff moved briskly through hallways, security checkpoints, and elevators. Every office seemed to be preparing for another discussion, another hearing, another decision. Somewhere during that walk, a colleague asked, “So what’s the plan for these discussions?”
I remember answering that we should absolutely take pride in the work being done, but that we also had to be very clear about where the challenges remained and what we believed needed to happen next.
Looking back, I think that answer reflected something larger. In healthcare, trust is rarely built by telling people only what is going well. People expect honesty. They expect evidence. They expect leaders to recognize progress without ignoring problems. As we moved from office to office that day, there was certainly plenty to be proud of. We discussed efforts to expand access to care, strengthen educational programs, improve quality, and invest in technology. But those conversations also included workforce shortages, operational pressures, access challenges, and questions that did not always have easy answers. What made the discussions meaningful was not that everyone agreed. It was that people were willing to wrestle seriously with difficult issues.
I have found myself thinking about those conversations more often than I expected, not because they were about healthcare policy, but because many of the same themes seem to emerge whenever artificial intelligence comes up in dentistry.
Over the past several months, I have participated in a very different set of discussions. Some have taken place in conference rooms, others during faculty meetings, professional gatherings, and video calls stretching across time zones. An educator wants to discuss curriculum. A researcher wants to discuss validation and evidence. A clinician is thinking about implementation. A student is wondering what skills will matter ten years from now. An industry leader is asking how trust is earned and maintained.
The conversation itself was never the surprise.
The speed was.
Five months ago, the Academy existed largely as an idea and a handful of discussions among colleagues. Today, those conversations seem to travel remarkably far. A discussion with an educator in North America may echo one with a researcher in Europe a few days later. Questions raised by clinicians in one region often sound remarkably similar to concerns expressed by students, educators, and health system leaders elsewhere. The settings may differ, but the discussion usually circles back to familiar territory: evidence, judgment, responsibility, education, and trust.
Somewhere along the way, it became clear that these were no longer isolated conversations occurring in separate corners of the profession. The threads were beginning to connect. Receiving notice that the Academy had been recognized by the United States Patent and Trademark Office was one reminder of that. Participating in broader professional discussions, including those connected to the American Dental Association Standards Program, was another. What stayed with me was not the milestone itself, but the realization that more people, more institutions, and more parts of the profession were beginning to engage with questions that only a short time ago seemed distant or theoretical.
The more those conversations evolve, the more convinced I become that the most important questions are not actually about technology. They are about people. They are about how future generations of students and residents will learn. They are about preserving independent clinical thinking in an environment where technology may become increasingly capable. They are about understanding where new tools genuinely add value, where caution is warranted, and how patient confidence can be maintained while meaningful innovation continues.
I remain excited by many of the possibilities artificial intelligence may bring to oral healthcare. The potential to improve education, strengthen decision-making, expand access to information, and support patient care deserves serious attention. At the same time, I find myself returning to the perspective that shaped many of those conversations on Capitol Hill years ago. Progress deserves recognition and potential deserves exploration, but trust must ultimately be protected if any of these advances are to endure. The challenge is not simply understanding what a technology can do. The challenge is understanding where it works well, where it falls short, what unintended consequences may emerge, and how professional judgment should continue guiding its use.
As I write this, I cannot help but think about the conversations that still lie ahead. Some of them will take place this July as colleagues from around the world gather for our second Academy seminar. Others will continue later this year in Buffalo, where educators, clinicians, researchers, and professional leaders will spend time discussing questions that are becoming increasingly important to the future of dental education and practice. Beyond that, the conversation will continue as we prepare for our first in-person Academy meeting in Los Angeles in 2027.
When I think about those events, I do not immediately think about agendas or schedules. I think about the conversations that happen before presentations begin and after they end. I think about educators comparing notes, researchers debating evidence, clinicians sharing experiences from practice, and students asking questions that nobody has fully answered yet. Those are often the moments where important ideas begin.
Perhaps that is why I still remember that question from years ago.
“So what’s the plan for these discussions?”
The answer, I suspect, is still unfolding. And I am grateful that so many of you have chosen to be part of it.
Owais A. Farooqi, DDS, MDS, MPH, FACHE
President
American Academy of Artificial Intelligence in Dentisty®
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