Hafsa Yasir Gondal¹*, Hira Nawaz Nagra², Muhammad Fahid Asmat³, Itrat Fatima⁴, Urooj Zahra Malik⁵, Akasha Noor⁵

¹Allama Iqbal Teaching Hospital, Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan

²Ibn Sina Dental Clinics, Avicenna (Ibn Sina) Allied Health Sciences, Texas, USA

³Rashid Latif Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan

⁴Shalamar Medical and Dental College, Lahore, Pakistan

⁵Sialkot Medical College, Sialkot, Pakistan

*Corresponding address: Allama Iqbal Teaching Hospital, Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan

Email: gondalhafsa07@gmail.com

 Received: 16 March 2026 / Revised: 28 May 2026 / Accepted: 02 June 2026 / Available Online: 26 June 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.63137/jsteam.570842

ABSTRACT

Objectives: This study compared trust, ethical awareness, and clinical reliance on artificial intelligence (AI) among senior medical and dental students in Pakistan and examined their associations with AI exposure, anxiety, and demographic factors.

Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted from June to September 2025 across Pakistani medical and dental institutions. Stratified sampling by discipline was used. The questionnaire comprised an AI trust scale, an ethical awareness scale, an AI anxiety scale, and a vignette-based clinical reliance index. Construct validity was assessed using an exploratory factor analysis, and reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. Between-group comparisons, multivariable regression, and bootstrapped mediation analysis were performed using SPSS v29 and R v4.3.

Results: A total of 1,856 responses were analyzed (medical: 1,032; dental: 824; 61.3% female; mean age 23.4 ± 1.2 years). Internal consistency was strong across all scales (α: 0.81–0.87). Dental students reported significantly higher AI trust (70.2 ± 10.8 vs 65.9 ± 12.0; p < 0.001) but lower ethical awareness (70.3 ± 10.1 vs 74.1 ± 9.2; p < 0.001) compared with medical students. Over-reliance was more prevalent among dental trainees (32.3% vs 25.4%; p < 0.001). In multivariable models, dental discipline (β = 0.19) and formal AI exposure (β = 0.27) independently predicted higher trust, whereas AI anxiety (β =- 0.23) predicted lower trust (all p < 0.001). Mediation analysis indicated that AI trust accounted for 36% of the association between curriculum exposure and clinical reliance.

Conclusion: Dental students demonstrated higher AI trust but lower ethical awareness and greater overreliance than medical students. Integrating structured AI literacy and ethical training into healthcare curricula may be essential to promote responsible clinical use of AI.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence; Clinical decision-making; Education, Medical; Ethics, Professional; Students, Health occupations

Data Availability: The data supporting this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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How to Cite: Gondal HY, Nagra HN, Asmat MF, Fatima I, Malik UZ, Noor A. Trust, Ethical Awareness, and Clinical Reliance on Artificial Intelligence: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study Among Senior Medical and Dental Students. J Sci Technol Educ Art Med. 2026;3(1):15-23