TELEDENTISTRY: The virtual reality
The
great growling engine of change-technology.
(Alvin
Toffler)
The mere possibility of
connecting with people through a device having a screen might have seemed
farfetched a few decades back. We are marching on to more sophisticated devices
and tools in technology. Dentistry is not an exception to the advances in
technology.
WHAT IS TELEDENTISTRY?
Teledentistry comes within the framework of telehealth.
While telehealth is a much broader concept that incorporates technology-driven
healthcare delivery; Teledentistry focuses on delivering, promoting, assessing,
diagnosing, consulting and treating patients for oral health problems.
HISTORY-
The first
significant use of teledentistry dates back to the year 1994. The US Armed
Forces established the Total Dental Access (TDA) project. Intraoral images of
patients were transferred from Fort McPherson to Fort Gordon.
Another study was conducted the following year in Haiti. Deployed dentists sent images to specialized dentists at the Walter Reed Medical Centre via a satellite.
In the year 1996, a network was formulated in Bosnia which established a connection between the dentists posted in Bosnia with the dentists present in the regional medical centres of the USA.
The European continent saw advent in the filed of teledentistry via a POTS based nexus.
Teledentistry
had the web browser at its disposal since October 1997 which brought about a plethora
of change ever since.
APPLICATIONS-
1. Oral Medicine and Radiology
· Intra oral photographs of
lesions and radiographic images can be easily exchanged anywhere in the world,
thus a ‘distant’ diagnosis and treatment plan can be established.
2. Endodontics
·
Diagnosis
of the periapical lesions of the front teeth can be successfully be done.
3. Prosthodontics
·
Diagnosis
and treatment planning of patients requiring dental prosthesis or oral
rehabilitation treatment can be done utilizing teledentistry.
·
Long
term follow up of such patients can be efficiently managed by
videoconferencing.
4. Public Health
Dentistry
·
A
wide range of population can be addressed by asynchronous teledentistry at the
same time.
·
Various topics like tooth brushing techniques,
appropriate oral hygiene procedures, tobacco control and highlighting the
significance of incremental care can be addressed depending on the targeted
community.
5. Oral Surgery
·
Assessment
of impacted teeth and maxillofacial fractures can be done with the help of
radiographic images sent from anywhere.
·
It
is easy to keep a long term follow up of patient post-surgery.
6. Orthodontics
·
Preventive
orthodontic procedures like parent education and checking if the quadrant wise
tooth shedding time table is maintained or not can be done by synchronous
teledentistry.
·
Minor
orthodontic emergencies like discomfort due to appliance, rubber ligature
displacement, buccal mucosa irritation can be dealt virtually.
·
Muscle
exercises which come under the sphere of interceptive orthodontics can be
easily demonstrated by both synchronous and asynchronous modes.
7. Paediatric
Dentistry
·
Dental
fear and anxiety can be managed by videoconferencing.
·
The
young child can be familiarized and made comfortable with the upcoming
treatment plan.
·
Avulsion
of a tooth which is one of the common sports-related dental injuries can be dealt
with promptly and the required instructions can be given till the patient
visits the dentist.
ADVANTAGES-
·
Reduced
costs
·
Easy
access to specialists
·
Reduced
time
·
Second
opinion can be easily asked
·
Dental
needs of old people, disabled people, people in rural areas can be addressed
DISADVANTAGES-
·
Technological
problems: This can lead to failure in sending correct data. Sometimes there can
be data loss or image resolution changes
·
Examinations
like palpation and percussion cannot be carried out
·
Data
management if not carried out properly can lead to loss of data
·
Confidentiality/Privacy
issues
CONCLUSION-
Teledentistry can be incorporated into the conventional dental practise in order to provide the best possible treatment to the patients. Data can be backed and restored. This data can be retrieved for any clinical reference in the future. However, the dental care provider must always be vigilant with maintaining data privacy and data security.
REFERENCES-
https://hitconsultant.net/2020/05/04/teledentistry/#.X7npU2gzZPY
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teledentistry
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2232632/?page=3
https://vsee.com/blog/what-is-teledentistry-telehealth/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3894070/
https://www.varonis.com/blog/data-privacy/
Written By-
Dr. Aboli Joshi
BDS
Pune
Email- dr.abolijoshi@outlook.com
Comments
Nice write up as always
Good going!!
Keep it up ABOLI 👍
Keep it up 😊