Telemedicine Dentistry – A New Trend in Delivering Dental Services

Recent events connected with COVID-19 have had a great impact on all spheres of people’s lives.  Everybody had to go online to solve many important issues. Hence, the rise of Telemedicine dentistry is not surprising. While the world is experiencing incredible transformations, new opportunities keep appearing. Now you don’t need to schedule an appointment and visit a dentist’s office if your issue can be solved with virtual services. This way, you can stay safe and still care about your oral health from home.

What Is Teledentistry?

Technology enables people to stay in touch with their family and friends despite a huge distance. After the COVID-19 outbreak, it became even more significant due to the order of social distance. At present, technology allows patients to have online dental consultation and get quick solutions to available problems. It means you should not go to a dentist’s office once you feel something is wrong. First, you can get in touch with a cosmetic dentist in Albuquerque to find out whether office visits are a necessity. Using video conferences, phone, text, or any other digital options, a doctor can provide patients with important information and decide whether they need in-person care.

What to Expect from Teledentistry Consultation?

Remote teledentistry is a great alternative to office visits during such difficult times. In the USA, teledentistry services are included in insurance coverage. This way, a patient can reduce the risk of catching COVID-19, avoid overcrowded offices and save a lot of time.  During the virtual dental consultation, a doctor will attentively listen to your symptoms, check available records (X-rays, photos, etc.), and provide you with:

1.Assessment. A dentist can perform dental assessments with the help of videos and photos that are taken by the patient, look through available records and examine the patient remotely.

2.Prescription. A doctor can prescribe some necessary medicine when a person is suffering from a toothache and needs some antibiotics to relieve the pain until there is an opportunity to visit a dentist’s office.

3.Supervision. Teledentistry orthodontics is a very effective and cheap way that allows a doctor to monitor the process of teeth movement from a distance without requiring the patient to visit the office regularly. 

As can be seen, dental teledentistry offers new opportunities for patients, allowing them to enjoy all related benefits.

Benefits of Virtual Dental Services

An impressive number of patients and dentists that use teledentistry innovations is not surprising at all if to consider numerous benefits it comes with:

•       Access to care. People who live in rural areas, older patients, and those with disabilities get access to dental care. Telemedicine dentistry breaks the barriers between patients and doctors, enabling the former to get professional consultations without going out.
•       Services to kids with disabilities. In urban areas, children can get necessary oral assistance with the help of school computers and community health programs. Pediatric teledentistry allows their parents to receive answers to all important questions.
•         Less intimidating. Plenty of people suffer from dental anxieties and are afraid of visiting a dentist. Communication with a doctor at home will not be so stressful.
•       Improvement of oral hygiene education. It is one of the main benefits of teledentistry that allows improving public awareness of virtual dental hygiene. For example, a dentist can teach the kids how to clean and floss their teeth, and tell what foods damage your teeth.
•       More time for dental work. Many patients come to the dentist’s office with minor concerns. If doctors have the opportunity to solve such issues online, they get more time to consult patients with more serious dental problems.
•       Fewer expenses. The cost of teledentistry is lower than face-to-face appointments. Additionally, a doctor doesn’t need to use gloves and other equipment during an online consultation.

Challenges for Teledentistry

Despite numerous benefits of teledentistry, we should keep in mind a range of obstacles that prevent professionals from putting this concept into practice. These challenges appear on several levels: organizational, individual, and infrastructural. The latter means the absence of stable Internet access in some areas, and the complexity of technology use for many people, especially the older generation. As for the individual aspect, it covers a boost of workload and clinic time, as well as weak IT literacy.

Finally, the organizational level is associated with possible difficulties caused by the adoption of virtual dental care. Online consultation is especially important for those people who live in the area with limited opportunities to get professional dental assistance. For example, New Mexico is recognized as one of such locations. Unfortunately, while the USA is already getting the first positive results from incorporating teledentistry solutions, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham put a veto on the legislation that supports broadening access to affordable oral care through teledentistry. Activists and experts from the American Teledentistry Association continue to support safe innovations hoping that soon they will be accessible for every person who approaches a family dentist in Albuquerque.

Teledentistry in New Mexico, USA

An online dental consultation is not something new. Teledentistry has been existing for many years already, but it has more opportunities to develop in the current conditions. The difference between office visit and consultation online is evident, but telemedicine dentistry is not about refusing face-to-face consultation. Instead, it aims at making dental services more accessible for people, allowing them to get professional assistance when they cannot see a doctor. 

Medicine of the Future

If you want to learn the difference between a dental cleaning and a dental exam, or clarify any other dental issue without going to the dentist’s office, then telemedicine dentistry is at your service. There is no doubt that future dental care will be strongly connected with technology; hence, the better patients and doctors get accustomed to it, the sooner they will be able to enjoy all the above-mentioned benefits.