Prod_news_v5_1
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Telemedicine in dentistry as the gold standard of
Product News
improving access to oral health care
Technology in the form of a smartphone and electronic and surprisingly affordable. The TeleDent subscription is
media has penetrated into our lives no matter whether available at an annual price of $ 299 per provider for un-
we live, in the country side or the city. There are numer- limited use [6].
ous isolated villages and communities that do not have Beside the software, implementing a teledentistry pro-
access to specialized medical care, the more so to dental gram requires adequate communication infrastructure,
care and prevention. Today, technology proposes a para- portable dental equipment, a source of sustainable
digm shift towards better interprofessional communica- funding, and a capable workforce trained to effectively
tion that helps both physicians and patients. Teledentistry use the equipment.
is a combination of telecommunications and dentistry in- Teledentistry is also an educational tool that provides
volving the exchange of clinical information and images continuing education and training to dental profession-
over large distances for dental consultation and treat- als and others in dental schools and residency programs
ment planning. and in the clinics where it is used. The use of technology
Teledentistry is pertains to Telemedicine. Tele in Greek and teledentistry in education provides new opportuni-
means distance and medicine in Latin means to heal. ties for case learning and for the interactive participation
Teledentistry has been introduced in many branches of in treatment planning and consultation from distant loca-
dentistry such as: endodontics, oral surgery, pedodon- tions.
tics, prosthetics, orthodontics, radiology, oral pathology. In a few years, most likely there will be legislation in
After the 2001 report on US telemedicine activity: the As- each country that will support teledentistry. Awareness
sociation of Telehealth Service Providers has been high- of teledentistry among health professionals should be
lighted by the yearly 2-fold increase in the number of increased and included in their day to day practice be-
active telemedicine programs. This is justified by the de- cause it is a way to expand their practice, which can help
velopment of telecommunications over the Internet [1]. in proper diagnosis and treatment plan accurately.
Teledentistry was established in 1989 at the Westing- Recently, the UCLA School of Dentistry received a $ 1.5
house electronics system group conference in Baltimore; million grant from the largest dentistry provider to sup-
to be more specific, the birth of teledentistry as a spe- port the launch of a community-based clinical education
cialist field of telemedicine could be linked to 1994 and program. The award will help UCLA student dentists to
a military project of the United States Army (US Army's take care of the most vulnerable patients, as in California
Total Dental Access Project) [2]. there is an uneven distribution of providers, underfund-
In August 1996, Norway was the first European country ed public health programs, lack of understanding of the
to implement an official telemedicine levy program so importance of oral health, and the difficulty of identifying
that these services became reimbursable by the national available resources.
health insurer [3]. In honor of the World Oral Health Day (WOHD), FDI and
Teledentistry has the role to eliminate the differences be- Dentsply Sirona have signed a new partnership on end-
tween oral health care in the urban and rural communi- odontics. This collaboration will create a White Paper on
ties. by being quick, low cost and able to bring together endodontics and a Chairside Guide for dentists to be
specialists from different corners of the world in a very launched at the 2019 World Congress in San Francisco.
short time. To improve the quality of medical care of the readers of
Teledentistry, also known as telemedicine in dentistry, will Stoma Edu J the use of teledentistry is strongly recom-
be included in the ADA’s Code on Dental Procedures and mended.
Nomenclature CDT Code) for the first time in 2018 [4].
E-Oral Health technology that could address the partici-
pants’s oral health needs in terms of education, consul- Florin - Eugen Constantinescu
tation, screening, diagnosis, treatment, support or any
other type of application in the field of dental medicine DMD, PhD Student
[2]. No limitation in terms of the duration of the interven- Editorial Director, Product News
tion and the type of stakeholders that are involved in the
interventions will be imposed.Teleconsultation through References
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ways – “Real-Time Consultation” and “Store-and Forward the United States: a new horizon of dental care. Int J
Method” [5]. Dent Hyg. 2004;2(4):161-164. DOI: 10.1111/j.1601-
Real-Time Consultation involves a videoconference in which 5037.2004.00093.x.
[Full text links] [PubMed] Google Scholar (44) Scopus (15)
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may see, hear, and communicate with one another. the literature. J Telemed Telecare. 2013;19(4):179–183.
Store-and-Forward Method involves the exchange of doi: 10.1177/1357633X13479704. Review.
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stored by the dental practitioner, who forwards them for 3. Hartvigsen G, Johansen MA, Hasvold P, et al. Challenges
consultation and treatment planning. in telemedicine and eHealth: lessons learned from 20
Teledentistry develops the ability to establish links be- years with telemedicine in Tromsø. Stud Health Technol
Inform. 2007;129(Pt 1):82-86.
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nomenon of rural and isolated areas in setting up a per- 4. Burger D. Code maintenance committee OKs teledentistry,
sonalized treatment plan. A1c codes. ADA News website. http://www.ada.org/
In the US, a software that facilitates teledentistry has been en/publications/ada-news/2017-archive/march/code-
implemented. TeleDent by MouthWatch provides an maintenance-committee-oks-teledentistry-a1c-codes.
easy, cost-effective, secure way to facilitate your health. Published March 14, 2017. Accessed March 20, 2017.
It is designed to easily import x-ray pictures and digital 5. Reddy KV. Using teledentistry for providing the specialist
access to rural indians. Indian J Dent Res. 2011;22(2):189.
scans for clinicians performing off-site dental examina- doi: 10.4103/0970-9290.84275.
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tracks current CDT billing codes. With the advent of the 6. Introducing TeleDent. MouthWatch website. https://www.
new CDT 2018 codes, documentation will become even mymouthwatch.com/teledentistry.php. Accessed March
easier. 27, 2017.
Despite being the only platform specifically designed for
teledentistry, MouthWatch TeleDent is easy to implement DOI: 10.25241/stomaeduj.2018.5(1).prodnews.1
Stomatology Edu Journal 59