Current trends in telemedicine and teledentistry, their application in providing dental care to patients of different ages

Abstract

Relevance. The significant spread of dental diseases across the population and the failure to provide timely medical care in a medical facility, including emergency services, for various reasons, calls for other ways of doctor-patient interactions, e.g., virtual communication. Telemedicine is an innovative way of dental care provision using electronic information and telecommunication technologies.Material and methods. The review includes the results of original publications on teledentistry implementation into dental practice and the results of its use in patients of different age groups. The studies focused on the application and limitations of teledentistry for the prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment of oral diseases. Data sources: a search was performed of full-text scientific articles published between 2012 and November 30, 2022, in English, in the electronic databases elibrary, cyberleninka, PubMed and Google Academy.Results. An initial electronic data search identified 2740 publications. Of these, upon exclusion of duplicates and checking for the title and abstract availability, 1100 studies were selected, while 1640 remaining publications were excluded for nonconformance to the inclusion criteria. Then, after the study of the titles and abstracts, 389 studies were subject to a full-text evaluation. Of these, 295 were excluded due to the lack of the doctor-patient interaction analysis. The systematic review included 91 publications, subject to the study evaluation and could be involved in numerical comparisons.Conclusion. Teledentistry has a vast application scope, e.g., online consultations, oral disease diagnosis and prevention. Teledentistry offers opportunities for providing higher-quality oral hygiene care to older patients. Teleconsultation allows for decreasing stress associated with a dental visit. It is especially crucial for patients with dementia who refuse face-to-face communication with the doctor.