Awareness regarding Teledentistry among Dental Professionals in Malaysia

Author:

Khokhar Romaisa A.1ORCID,Ismail Waleed A.23ORCID,Sunny Adnan4ORCID,Shaikh Gul M.5ORCID,Ghous Sundas6ORCID,Ansari Moeez37ORCID,Zia Syed Hamza2ORCID,Arshad Soban8ORCID,Alam Mohammad Khursheed91011ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Department of Oral Pathology, Shifa College of Dentistry, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan

2. Department of Periodontics, Shifa College of Dentistry, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan

3. Periodontics Unit, School of Dental Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia

4. Department of Prosthodontics, Shifa College of Dentistry, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan

5. Department of Dental Education and Research, Shahida Islam Medical and Dental College, Lodhran 59320, Pakistan

6. Department of Dental Materials, Islamic International Dental College, Riphah International University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan

7. Department of Periodontology, Rashid Latif Medical and Dental College, Lahore 54600, Pakistan

8. Department of Operative Dentistry and Endodontics, Foundation University College of Dentistry, Foundation University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan

9. Orthodontics, Department of Preventive Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Jouf University, Sakaka, Al Jouf 72345, Saudi Arabia

10. Center for Transdisciplinary Research (CFTR), Saveetha Dental College, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, India

11. Department of Public Health, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

Objective. Teledentistry is considered to be a technological advancement in providing dental care to patients while effectively addressing the time management. Furthermore, the pandemic of COVID-19 has been here for quite long now, forcing the dental practitioners to ponder upon other methods of healthcare delivery apart from the traditional in-office direct clinical examination. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of dental professionals of Malaysia regarding teledentistry, which can act as a future pedestal for improvements in virtual dental practice and patient care. Materials and Methods. It was a descriptive, cross-sectional study involving an electronic survey of a sample of dental professionals of Malaysia. A prevalidated, 26-item, 5-point Likert-scale questionnaire was used in assessing the perceptions of dental professionals regarding teledentistry in four domains: existing concerns about teledentistry use, the potential of teledentistry in improving practice, usefulness of teledentistry for dental practice, and its usefulness for patients. Statistical analyses involved descriptive statistics which included frequency distributions. Results. An overall response rate of 31.0% was observed with 310 dental practitioners participating in the survey. More than 60% of respondents agreed that teledentistry would benefit the dental practice through enhancement of communication with peers, guidance, and new patients’ referral. However, a substantial proportion of practitioners (70-80%) expressed uncertainty with accuracy of diagnosis, technical reliability, and privacy. Conclusion. Generally, the results of this study point towards the readiness of dental professionals of Malaysia to engage in teledentistry practice. However, further work needs to be done to assess the commercial feasibility of teledentistry, not only in Malaysia but also in other parts of the world. To start with, directed campaigns in reference to teledentistry are necessary to educate dentists and the public about the technology and its potential.

Funder

Universiti Sains Malaysia

Publisher

Hindawi Limited

Subject

General Immunology and Microbiology,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology,General Medicine

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3