Massachusetts has consistently been at the forefront of innovations in healthcare, and the issue of AI use in healthcare and dental care demonstrates that the state’s healthcare industry, academic community, and legislature are leading the movement toward improved health and dental care through the use of AI.
Industry periodicals, such as RDH magazine and Dental Economics, have recently featured articles highlighting the use of AI in dentistry as a valuable assistive tool that can promote better dental outcomes when used in combination with hands-on practitioners. There are also ethical, legal, and practical concerns that state legislatures are trying to fit into the picture of a fast-moving technology that is hard to keep pace with.
Massachusetts academic institutions, such as Harvard University, offer courses on the subject, and the Massachusetts High Technology Council has published a white paper titled “Becoming the Global Leader in Applied AI for Healthcare and Life Sciences.” The Massachusetts legislature is now considering a bill, HD 396, which notes healthcare as an industry for which “Accountability and Transparency in Artificial Intelligence Systems” is applicable.
RDH magazine highlights the diagnosis of periodontal disease as a particular area where AI will be successfully applied, but also mentions that inputting massive amounts of health information into algorithms raises privacy concerns.
Additionally, both the HD 396 and the dental literature emphasize that biases against protected classes, as well as the potential for fact-based conclusions, need to be addressed. The FDA has already approved some AI health care platforms.
Hearings will be held soon on HD 396, and so far, meetings have been crowded.

Brian Hatch
Hatch Legal Group
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Attleboro, MA 02703
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