Teledentistry in Oral Health Care

Abstract

In the past few years, it has been seen that digital technology captured all field of life and health sciences. These advances revolutionized the field of dentistry and oral health education as well. Advancements have been observed mainly in education as e-learning platforms has been massively subscribed, then digital gadgets, telecommunication technology, digital diagnostic imaging services, artificial intelligence, and other softwares for disease analysis and dental follow-up.1 These modifications and innovations related to technology have improved the quality of patient care providing health care centers and qualified dentists the chance to practice effectively at long distances.2,3 This concept of hobnobbing, communicating, and providing distant consultations, workup, and analysis digitally is the part of the science of telemedicine concerned with dentistry known as “Teledentistry (TD).”4 According to the literature, the concept of TD was drafted in 1989 as a component of the blueprint for dental informatics and patient data mining. It was introduced at a conference in Baltimore; the focus of the discussion was applying dental informatics in dental practice to help deliver quality oral health care.3 The significance of TD is stress-free examination, for example, child patient sitting with their parents and the dental care practitioner providing a cooperative consultancy with the child. Also, it is convenient for the patient as well to stay at home and reduce the multiple visits from far distance. Prof. Cook first used the termTD in 1997,who defined it as an amalgamation of information technology and dentalrelated consultancy involving the exchange of clinical data of patient over remote distances for appropriate treatment planning.4 Introduction by these events toTDhasgiven a new and feasible way to dental practice and improved patient care. Modern technology has created opportunities in the field of dentistry and improved TD to get complete, deep analysis, and precise patient information to give satisfactory results and redesign businesses.2,5 This was evident in almost all the fields of dentistry utilizing TD as a mode of consultation and delivering minor dental services, such as in oral surgery it was proved to be a way of providing preoperative evaluation wherever mobility was restricted and improved referral system. Furthermore, it is also reported in Ireland that TD has worked in oral medicine and diagnosis where TD consultation system was implemented and reported effective in diagnosing oral lesions. Moreover, in orthodontics it was useful for interceptive orthodontic treatments, in prosthodontics, pedodontics, operatives, endodontics, and other fields of dentistry. TD was fruitful for video communication (consultation and examination) providing initial care and postoperative care to patients.4 Adding to that it has improved patient care as reported in one of the studies done by the “Group of Chin-Shan in their Health Center and National Taiwan University Hospital” in 2000. In this study, they have selected a doctor under training to visit Chin-Shan Township consisting of 17,000 people. He carried only some armamentariums with intraoral camera, a portable digital radiographic machine, and a software application to transfer all images to the hospital. This piloted study demonstrated the importance of TD in providing patient care related to dental issues to individuals living at remote places, facing pandemic, cannot travel, or have some major financial issues and also reinforced the viability of remote specialty consultations.6 Moreover, there are more studies, one of which conducted in the United States on a TD project where they have hired doctors “in six inner-city elementary schools and seven childcare centers” who has diagnosed dental caries in 173 children, almost 40% of the children aged 12 to 48 months had active dental caries.7 Following this study the dentist of Northern Ireland in 2010, also introduced and positively established TD program with the support of “Community Dental Service of the Home first Legacy Trust” in collaboration with the “Oral Medicine Department at the School of Dentistry, Belfast, UK Trust” using the feasibility of TD as an alternative approach to the management of oral medicine referrals.5