Dentists, General
In short: today's best AI models could do about 44% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about 53% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 47% of the time, stays with people.
Examine, diagnose, and treat diseases, injuries, and malformations of teeth and gums. May treat diseases of nerve, pulp, and other dental tissues affecting oral hygiene and retention of teeth. May fit dental appliances or provide preventive care.
124,390 people do this job in the US. $170,950 a year.
Reviewed on September 30, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on2 h
- A person checks AI's work15 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet4 h
- Stays with people19 h
Dentists, General, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 2 hours, 15 hours become checking its work, 4 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 19 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Analyze dental disease trends (about 7 h, a person checks); Run dental health programs (about 3 h, a person checks); Produce dental health materials (about 3 h).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 52%
- 1%
- 6%
- 4%
- 37%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 44% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 15%. Today's estimate: 44%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, no reportable share went to this job's tasks in May 2026; 0 of its 20 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.033% to 0.04% (released February and March 2025); 0.028% to 0.045% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.033% | 346 of 708 | 4 of 20 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.04% | 305 of 703 | 5 of 20 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.028% | 327 of 655 | 3 of 20 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.044% | 254 of 672 | 3 of 20 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.045% | 264 of 677 | 4 of 20 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 20 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 20 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 73% of this job's working time as physical work. For 0% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere. 0.00 of 3.
- Not physical 27%
- No robot shown 73%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
47% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Use dental instruments and turbines, the hands-on work, 6%
- Run dental health programs, the conversation, 6%
- Diagnose and treat oral disease, the hands-on work, 6%
- Examine and diagnose, the hands-on work, 4%
- Design and fit prosthodontic appliances, the hands-on work, 4%
- Fill root canals, the hands-on work, 3%
What becomes checking the machine
45% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it. Another 7% is desk work that is small if wrong, which can be handed over with lighter checks.
- Analyze dental disease trends, costly if wrong, 19%
- Run dental health programs, costly if wrong, 14%
- Formulate treatment plans, a licensed person signs, 3%
- Manage the practice, costly if wrong, 3%
- Design and fit prosthodontic appliances, a licensed person signs, 2%
- Diagnose and treat oral disease, a licensed person signs, 2%
What to learn
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 52% of the time is documents and data, the part models reach first: writing a clear brief, giving the right material, and checking what comes back.
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check or sign: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
- Signing off under your license. Some tasks need a licensed, certified or sworn person to do or sign them. The license, and the judgment it stands for, stays with the person.
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
- The hands-on craft. About 37% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 20 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan, organize, or maintain dental health programs.Programs planned on paper, with conversations to run them.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 20% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days | Documents 70%, conversation 30% | 43%Desk part half by now |
| Analyze or evaluate dental needs to determine changes or trends in patterns of dental disease.Patterns worked out from the records.Done daily by most who do it. | 19% | 3.3 h50 min to 1 work day | Documents 100% | 86%Half by now |
| Diagnose and treat diseases, injuries, or malformations of teeth, gums, or related oral structures and provide preventive or corrective services.Treatment by hand, with the diagnosis and plan.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | Hands-on 70%, documents 30% | 30%Desk part half by now |
| Produce or evaluate dental health educational materials.Educational materials written and reviewed.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 7% | 3.3 h50 min to 1 work day | Documents 100% | 86%Half by now |
| Examine teeth, gums, and related tissues, using dental instruments, x-rays, or other diagnostic equipment, to evaluate dental health, diagnose diseases or abnormalities, and plan appropriate treatments.The examination with instruments and x-rays, and the diagnosis worked out.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 29 min17 min to 50 min | Hands-on 70%, documents 30% | 30%Desk part half by now |
| Design, make, or fit prosthodontic appliances, such as space maintainers, bridges, or dentures, or write fabrication instructions or prescriptions for denturists or dental technicians.Fitting bridges and dentures, with the design and lab prescriptions written.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Hands-on 60%, documents 40% | 40%Desk part half by now |
| Use dental air turbines, hand instruments, dental appliances, or surgical implements.Hands-on work with the instruments.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Manage business aspects such as employing or supervising staff or handling paperwork or insurance claims.Staff supervised, paperwork and insurance claims handled.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min13 min to 3.3 h | Documents 40%, systems 30%, in person 30% | 68%Desk part half by now |
| Fill pulp chamber and canal with endodontic materials.Pulp chamber and canal filled.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 1.7 h50 min to 3.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Formulate plan of treatment for patient's teeth and mouth tissue.The plan worked out from the findings.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 3% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Remove diseased tissue, using surgical instruments.Surgical instruments in the mouth.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Treat exposure of pulp by pulp capping, removal of pulp from pulp chamber, or root canal, using dental instruments.Pulp capping, removal or root canal by hand.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 1.7 h38 min to 3.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Dentists, General is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 44% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 53% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Dentists, General come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Analyze dental disease trends (86% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); Run dental health programs (43% of the task's time now, 70% by the end of 2028); and Produce dental health materials (86% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028).
- Which tasks of Dentists, General stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Use dental instruments and turbines; Fill root canals; and Remove diseased tissue. Together such tasks are about 26% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Dentists, General learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are briefing a model and checking its drafts; reviewing work you did not do yourself; and signing off under your license. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 47% of the working time stays with people, 45% becomes checking a model's work and 7% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Dentists, General?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 3%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Dentists, General?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 73% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 0% of the working time. Its index is 0.00 of 3. A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 20 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on September 30, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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