Study Warns AI Smile Simulations May Set Unrealistic Ortho Expectations

Posted: July 22, 2026

Study Warns AI Smile Simulations May Set Unrealistic Ortho Expectations

Edited by Orthotown staff

Orthodontic clinicians who use AI-enhanced smile simulations in case presentation should be aware that most viewers cannot tell them apart from real results, a survey published July 15 in Clinical Oral Investigations found, with 63.2% of 252 participants mistaking AI-enhanced images for genuine outcomes.

In the cross-sectional online survey, researchers showed three sets of images: pretreatment, genuine posttreatment, and AI-enhanced outcomes generated with ChatGPT and DALL-E 3. Participants rated each image’s authenticity and attractiveness on a visual analog scale.

A total of 63.2% of participants misclassified AI-enhanced images as real, while 18.5% misclassified genuine images as AI-generated. The AI-enhanced images drew significantly higher attractiveness ratings, with a mean score of 69.2 compared with 53.9 for real posttreatment photographs.

Participants who reported greater trust in AI-generated content were more likely to mistake AI-enhanced images for real ones, and older age carried a small association in the same direction.

The authors noted the study used only three clinical cases and a single generative system, limiting how broadly the results apply. Even so, they wrote that AI-generated smile simulations may create unrealistic patient expectations and that the findings support transparent communication about the limits of AI-generated content in practice.

The study was conducted by Gasparello and colleagues at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná in Brazil and universities in Finland.

Sources:
Clinical Oral Investigations, “Human perception of AI-generated post-treatment orthodontic facial images: factors associated with misclassification,” July 15, 2026 (DOI 10.1007/s00784-026-07020-5): link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00784-026-07020-5
PubMed listing (PMID 42467108): pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42467108

Study Warns AI Smile Simulations May Set Unrealistic Ortho Expectations


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