Can Large Language Models Detect Periapical Lesions in Anterior Teeth? A Comparative Study

Abstract

This study evaluated the diagnostic performance of large language models (LLMs)-ChatGPT 5.0 (OpenAI) and Gemini Flash 2.0 (Google Inc.)-in detecting periapical lesions on periapical radiographs using a standardized multimodal prompt. Seventy-five anonymized periapical radiographs of anterior teeth from the maxilla and mandible were analyzed, evenly distributed between cases with and without lesions. A calibrated endodontic specialist provided the reference diagnosis. Each image was independently assessed five times by both LLMs using the prompt: "Does this image show a periapical lesion? Answer 'Yes' or 'No'. If 'Yes', which tooth?". Balanced accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and F1-score were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) obtained via bootstrap resampling. Performance was also stratified by diagnostic difficulty, and the models were compared using the exact McNemar test (α = 0.05). ChatGPT 5.0 showed higher overall performance than Gemini Flash 2.0, with sensitivity of 0.97 (95% CI: 0.95-0.99), specificity of 0.11 (95% CI: 0.07-0.16), and balanced accuracy of 0.54 (95% CI: 0.52-0.57). Gemini Flash 2.0 achieved sensitivity of 0.84 (95% CI: 0.79-0.89), specificity of 0.11 (95% CI: 0.07-0.16), and balanced accuracy of 0.48 (95% CI: 0.44-0.51). Both models showed high false-positive rates and frequent errors in tooth localization. The McNemar test confirmed a significant difference between models (p < 0.05), favoring ChatGPT 5.0. Both LLMs demonstrated high sensitivity but poor specificity, resulting in intermediate diagnostic performance and a bias toward positive classifications. General-purpose LLMs are therefore not yet suitable for radiographic diagnostic use.

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