Comparison of Artificial Intelligence and Clinicians With Different Experience Levels in Assessing Gingival Phenotype

The goal of this observational study is to compare the performance of clinicians with different experience levels and a deep learning-based artificial intelligence (AI) model in assessing gingival phenotype using two diagnostic methods: the periodontal probe transparency method and visual assessment from standardized clinical photographs. The main questions the study aims to answer are: Can AI achieve comparable accuracy to human examiners in both probe transparency and visual assessment methods? Does examiner experience level influence diagnostic performance and agreement with the reference standard in these methods? Researchers will compare AI, dental students, and periodontology research assistants to determine accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and agreement with the gold standard for each method. Participants will: Undergo standardized intraoral photography of maxillary anterior teeth, with and without a periodontal probe in place, following a validated protocol. Have gingival phenotype determined by a reference periodontologist using the probe transparency method as the gold standard. Have their photographs evaluated by AI, dental students, and research assistants for phenotype classification using both methods.