ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE'S EMERGING ROLE IN ORAL ONCOLOGY

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its application is providing new horizons in research and applied science. The goal of this study was to determine the level of awareness, attitudes, and future perspectives about AI among dental students and professionals and its application in digital pathology. A questionnaire survey was conducted among Undergraduate and Postgraduate dental students and Faculty/Clinicians through Google Forms. It was categorised into sections with the objective of determining knowledge, attitudes, and future perspectives of AI and its potential applications in pathology. The responders' identities were kept anonymous. A total of 200 people responded to the poll, with 136 females and 64 males with an average of 24 years. The study included 125 Undergraduates, 44 Post graduate students, and 31 Faculty/Clinicians. 73.5 % were aware that AI might be utilised in medicine. According to 87.5 %, it should be incorporated in the curriculum. 79 % feel it will play an important role in diagnostic and treatment planning in the future. Although the participants have a limited understanding of AI, they are eager to learn more about it. Participants expressed optimism, believing that AI will have a beneficial influence on medical practise in future. Artificial Intelligence approaches and development trends will focus on machine learning based on data acquired from the most recent diagnostic modalities, such as multi-omics (e.g., genomics, metabolomics) and imaging technologies, especially in areas where objective detection methods are missing. Finally, developing global and national standards and laws is required to accelerate the use and spread of AI in health and medicine. It will be useful in forecasting the prognosis, recurrence, and survival rate of oral cancer patients and also to predict the malignant transformation of pre-malignant lesion in high-risk patients.