Teledentistry is serving like a beacon light in the darkness of pandemic

Pandemic has changed the form of human existence completely around the world. In the current situation, from a small dental setup to extensively established practices everyone has to change their practice protocol to enhance infection control with additional protection using personal protective equipment (PPE).

From the beginning of the pandemic till today the patient volume has decreased drastically. Apart from making up for the revenue, another major challenge for practitioners is the cost of the PPE kit and also the extra time which is consumed per patient.

In the middle of this absolute disappointing scenario, teledentistry has emerged as a savior.

In the past six months, teledentistry has served as a ray of hope and has rapidly gained its acceptance globally. 

To incorporate teledentistry in a dental practice the practitioners must recognize the workflow first. Based upon the workflow teledentistry can be used.

With the usage of teledentistry a lot of time can be saved for example a patient is asked to fill the demographic details in a consent form given via emails or messages which were otherwise filled when the patient arrives in the clinic.

Another instance is when a multidisciplinary approach is needed for a case then by just sharing the clinical pictures, radiographs and reports a single structured treatment plan can be generated then the virtual face to face call can be made with the dentist to further discuss the treatment plan. Eventually, time is saved making room for the dentist to take more emergency cases.

Thus teledentistry has stabilized the otherwise fall in the number of cases moreover it has helped the dentists to perform their tasks more effectively.

Life in COVID-19 is all about virtual interactions, teledentistry can make a virtual face-to-face appointment with patients making them stay connected with the clinician while limiting the risks at the same time. 

If we summarize the advantages of teledentistry, it enables the dentist to practice within safety limits, which reduces the cost burden for PPEs and saves time for attending more cases. Teledentistry has thus played a great role in stabilizing the downfall in dental practices to a great extent.