Assessment of an Innovative Mobile Dentistry eHygiene Model Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network: Protocol for Design, Implementation, and Usability Testing

Acceptance and Usability of an Innovative mDentistry eHygiene Model Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic Within the US National Dental Practice-Based Research Network: Mixed Methods Study

BACKGROUND

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and other possible future infectious disease pandemics, dentistry needs to consider modified dental examination regimens that render quality care and ensure the safety of patients and dental health care personnel (DHCP).

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to assess the acceptance and usability of an innovative mDentistry eHygiene model amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

This pilot study used a 2-stage implementation design to assess 2 critical components of an innovative mDentistry eHygiene model: virtual hygiene examination (eHygiene) and patient self-taken intraoral images (SELFIE), within the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network. Mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) were used to assess the acceptance and usability of the eHygiene model.

RESULTS

A total of 85 patients and 18 DHCP participated in the study. Overall, the eHygiene model was well accepted by patients (System Usability Scale [SUS] score: mean 70.0, SD 23.7) and moderately accepted by dentists (SUS score: mean 51.3, SD 15.9) and hygienists (SUS score: mean 57.1, SD 23.8). Dentists and patients had good communication during the eHygiene examination, as assessed using the Dentist-Patient Communication scale. In the SELFIE session, patients completed tasks with minimum challenges and obtained diagnostic intraoral photos. Patients and DHCP suggested that although eHygiene has the potential to improve oral health care services, it should be used selectively depending on patients' conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

The study results showed promise for the 2 components of the eHygiene model. eHygiene offers a complementary modality for oral health data collection and examination in dental offices, which would be particularly useful during an infectious disease outbreak. In addition, patients being able to capture critical oral health data in their home could facilitate dental treatment triage and oral health self-monitoring and potentially trigger oral health-promoting behaviors.

The feasibility of a digital health approach to facilitate remote dental screening among preschool children during COVID-19 and social restrictions

BACKGROUND

Tele-dentistry can be useful to facilitate screening of children, especially those living in rural and remote communities, and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

AIM

This study evaluated the feasibility of tele-dental screening for the identification of early childhood caries (ECC) in preschoolers using an app operated by their parents with remote review by oral-health therapists.

DESIGN

This cross-sectional study was a sub-project nested in ORIGINS Project, a longitudinal birth cohort study in Western Australia. Initially, children were visually examined by a paediatric dentist (gold standard). Subsequently, dental photographs were taken by parents using a smartphone camera. Two trained oral health professionals asynchronously evaluated dental photographs. The presence of dental caries was recorded as per the International Caries Detection and Assessment System-II classification. The diagnostic accuracy and reliability of the tele-dental screening and the gold standard dental examinations were then compared.

RESULTS

Forty-two children aged <4 years were enrolled in the study. Twenty-five per cent of examined children had dental caries (mean dmfs = 0.7). A total of 370 dental photographs were obtained. Parents were able to take good-quality photographs, with 90% of photographs rated as good to fair quality. Tele-dental screening demonstrated high specificity (>=95.5%) for both reviewers compared to the gold standard dental examination. However, the sensitivity scores for the two reviewers varied, ranging from 44% to 88.4%.

CONCLUSION

Tele-dental screening for ECC was shown to be a feasible approach following a brief training for primary caregivers. This approach can offer a potential low-cost and sustainable alternative for visual dental examinations for young children, particularly in times of COVID-19-related restrictions.

Teledentistry during COVID-19 pandemic: scientometric and content analysis approach

Introduction

During Covid-19 pandemic, people have been reluctant to visit dentist due to the fear of infection. Dentists have also suffered from severe turmoil. Teledentistry has been considered as a key strategy for managing people’s oral health. The aim of this study was to investigate teledentistry services in the world during the Covid-19 pandemic and to learn from different experiences.

Materials and methods

The Web of Science database was searched by scientometric analysis approach, using keywords such as Covid-19, telemedicine, teledentistry and synonymous keywords derived from MeSH. Consequently, 94 articles were extracted from which, 15 articles related to teledentistry during Covid-19 were included in the study, considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Results

Scientometric analysis and illustration of retrieved articles were performed to identify authors, organizations and countries, and to review cooperation and collaboration networks in this field. Teledentistry was studied during Covid-19 in countries such as China, United States, Japan, Italy and United Kingdom. Types of the software used for communication between dentists and patients were WeChat, BigWord telephone translator, iGAM, WhatsApp, Attend Anywhere (AA), DeRS. The software used for data storage were Mouthwatch TeleDent, and Proforma. For data processing and decision making decision tree algorithms, automated algorithms were employed.

Conclusion

Teledentistry has the potential to improve the provision of dental services. A fundamental review and careful planning is required to provide such services, particularly in developing countries. Furthermore teledentistry needs more in-depth studies in order to overcome existing and future obstacles and risks while taking advantage of its benefits.