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The Implementation of Teledentistry for Pediatric Patients

Authors:
Rodrigo Mariño
David Manton
Parul Marwaha
Kerrod Hallet
Ken Clark
Matthew Hopcraft
Michael McCullough
Ann Borda

Keywords: oral health; teledentistry; intraoral camera; cleft lip and palate.

Abstract:
The present study tested a prototype teledentistry system in which regional Community Health Centers are linked to the Melbourne Dental School or the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne (RCH). Three general dental practitioners (GDP) working in community dental clinics in the Australian state of Victoria were trained to manipulate an intraoral camera and to use existing ICT infrastructure to communicate with a dental specialist at RCH and transmit video images for remote assessment. Participants were recruited from the RCH’s patient database for cleft lip and palate (CL&P) and orthodontics, living in the selected rural locations. Patients/parents of patients participating in the study completed a questionnaire to assess their experiences with the program. Forty-two assessments/consultations were conducted; 26 CL&P patients, and 16 in orthodontics. For most patients, the outcome of the consultation was the avoidance of trips to the centrally located RCH for initial assessment and/or follow-ups. This field trial provided initial evidence on how teledentistry might improve access to specialist care; identified broader community benefits for both the family and the services providers. From the RCH perspective, the potential reduction of inappropriate referrals with the concomitant reduction of waiting lists for specialist consultation, were important advantages of teledentistry.

Pages: 14 to 19

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2014

Publication date: August 24, 2014

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2308-4553

ISBN: 978-1-61208-359-9

Location: Rome, Italy

Dates: from August 24, 2014 to August 28, 2014