Teledentistry has experienced a boom in popularity in recent years. Although this was true even before the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns and social distancing measures forced medical professionals and patients to use remote telehealth services. Dental care is an essential service, as such, it is critical to meet the needs of your patients at all times. Teledentistry offers the convenience and ability to reach people in times of need, especially when dentists cannot be physically there. Teledentistry has the potential to change the way you care for your patients. If you are still considering incorporating teledentistry into your dental practice, here are three benefits that will encourage you to do so.
Remote screening allows you to provide emergency screening services in times of need, such as during the pandemic. It also enables you to quickly and accurately determine the severity of various issues and circumstances, giving your patients peace of mind. At the same time, you can decide if their issue necessitates an urgent in-office appointment. If it does not, you can send patients the dental supplies they need, without them leaving the comfort of their homes. Not only do you provide immediate relief to your patients, but you will also have streamlined your dental office resources.
Dentists can remotely check on a patient's overall dental health thanks to certain instruments and technology. Patients can manually track and report their dental hygiene, or they may even use apps to do so. Certain apps allow patients to take a photo of their teeth with their phone and send it to your dental clinic’s computers. At the sight of any potential problems or issues, you can schedule an online consultation, to get further information and talk about any difficulties they may be facing.
High-tech gadgets are also available. For example, dental wearables have been tested on a high-tech level since 2018. These wearables, also referred to as "small tooth sensors," connect to a patient's teeth and continuously monitor their nutrition and oral health. The mobile device uploads the information to the patient's dental records after receiving the data from the sensors.
Access to dental offices and other healthcare services is frequently restricted for residents of remote areas. With the use of teledentistry, you can contact more patients who live in remote, rural, or difficult-to-reach places. In order to organize treatments and conduct virtual consultations, exams, and diagnostics, you can interact with patients remotely. From a distance, you can keep an eye on their oral health at all times. You can also virtually connect with their local oral health teams to help with specific treatments when in-person care is required.
People who live in rural locations stand to gain much from teledentistry, perhaps more than any other demographic. According to studies, Americans who live in rural areas are almost twice as likely as those who live in the city to suffer from tooth decay and lose their adult teeth. This is primarily a result of the difficulty in finding nearby family dentistry offices in remote areas.
