Not in the Room: Dentistry, AI Policy, and the Cost of Absence

Direct Answer: In this solo episode, Dr. Randeep Singh Gill examines why dentistry is almost entirely absent from the UK's AI health infrastructure conversation, despite NHS dentistry delivering 35 million courses of treatment in 2024/25. With UKRI committing £1.6 billion to AI between 2026 and 2030 and the NHS 10-Year Health Plan targeting world-leading AI capability, the decisions being made right now will shape what is commercially viable in dental AI for the next fifteen years.What is this episode about?The UK is designing its AI health infrastructure now. The data frameworks, clinical pathway co-pilots, and Single Patient Record architecture being built today will determine which verticals get embedded from the start and which ones get retrofitted later at significantly greater cost. Dentistry is not in that design process. This episode makes the case for why that absence matters, and what it would take to change it.In this solo episode of TechDental, Dr. Randeep Singh Gill draws on six months of involvement in the Rising Women Leaders in AI programme, a British Council International Science Partnerships Fund initiative connecting UK and Türkiye researchers, to examine what science diplomacy actually looks like in practice and why dental AI needs a credible voice in the rooms where UK health infrastructure is being designed.What you will learn:Why UKRI's £1.6 billion AI commitment and the NHS 10-Year Health Plan create a narrow window to influence UK health infrastructure design.Why dentistry, despite delivering 35 million courses of NHS treatment in 2024/25, is almost entirely absent from the UK AI policy conversation.What science diplomacy actually means in practice, beyond summits and declarations.Why the UK-Türkiye bilateral research corridor represents a live opportunity for dental AI that is currently untapped.What the cost of late inclusion in infrastructure design looks like for practices, founders, and investors.Why the people shaping dental AI's future are not sitting in dental schools.About the host:Dr. Randeep Singh Gill is a qualified dentist, founder of TechDental and DentaCFO, and a strategy adviser at the intersection of dental AI, capital, and policy. He is a UK Programme Mentor on the Rising Women Leaders in AI programme, a British Council ISPF initiative in partnership with the University of Reading, Thames Valley AI Hub, and Koç University, Türkiye. He flies to Istanbul on 2 June 2026 for the programme's closing ceremony at Is Kuleleri.Website: https://www.techdental.com Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drrandeep/Programme partners:Rising Women Leaders in AI (RWLAI): British Council International Science Partnerships Fund Principal Investigator and UK Programme Lead: Dr. Selin Kudret, https://www.linkedin.com/in/drselinkudret/ Türkiye Programme Lead: Professor Cigdem Gunduz Demir, https://www.linkedin.com/in/cigdem-gunduz-demir-0a4552/ University of Reading: https://www.linkedin.com/school/university-of-reading Thames Valley AI Hub: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thames-valley-ai-hub Koç University: https://www.linkedin.com/school/kocuniversity/ British Council: https://www.linkedin.com/company/british-councilListen on:Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/41pKL9bSpotify: https://bit.ly/41UsqRO YouTube: https://bit.ly/3JSfl5cSubscribe to the TechDental newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7320560217455271939YOUTUBE DESCRIPTIONNot in the Room: Dentistry, AI Policy, and the Cost of Absence | TechDental Solo EpisodeThe UK is committing £1.6 billion to AI between 2026 and 2030. The NHS 10-Year Health Plan has a single ambition: to become the world's most AI-enabled health system. NHS dentistry delivered 35 million courses of treatment in 2024/25. And yet dentistry is almost entirely absent from the conversation that will determine what is commercially viable in this sector for the next fifteen years.In this solo episode, Dr. Randeep Singh Gill draws on six months of involvement in the Rising Women Leaders in AI programme, a British Council ISPF initiative connecting UK and Türkiye researchers, to examine what science diplomacy actually looks like in practice and why dental AI needs a credible voice in the rooms where UK health infrastructure is being designed.Topics covered: Why the UK's AI infrastructure design window is open now and closing Why dentistry is not represented in the UKRI and NHS 10-Year Plan conversation What science diplomacy means beyond summits and declarations Why the UK-Türkiye bilateral research corridor matters for dental AI What late inclusion in infrastructure design costs practices, founders, and investorsDr. Randeep Singh Gill is a qualified dentist, founder of TechDental and DentaCFO, and a UK Programme Mentor on the Rising Women Leaders in AI programme. He flies to Istanbul on 2 June 2026 for the programme's closing ceremony.Subscribe to the TechDental newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7320560217455271939Website: https://www.techdental.com Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drrandeep/#techdental #dentalai #aiinhealthcare #nhs #ukri #healthtech #dentalbusiness #futureofdentistry #sciencediplomacy #artificialintelligence #dentalinnovation #dentalpodcast