Role of Telemedicine and Smartphone for Distant Patient Management in Dentistry: The New Way of Triage

Design and evaluation of screening and self-care (mobile) application for oral and dental problems and emergencies

Introdution

Although oral and dental diseases may occur in unexpected or even emergency conditions, but some of the diagnosis and treatments can be algorithmically done following some guidelines. The development and implementation of a system that provides users with a record of history and a proposal of required actions can be not only efficiently practical, but also virtually simple.

Materials and method

A system made up of web and mobile apps is proposed and evaluated for screening and self-care of oral and dental problems and for providing advice on dental emergencies and therapeutic measures. This system was developed and made available to users under the name of 'Dandanyar'. The data were then collected from Dandanyar users and analyzed based on the selected statistical population for evaluating their satisfaction.

Results

The evaluation results showed that more than 90 % of specialists had a positive attitude towards application effectiveness. On the other hand, clients expressed their satisfaction with various aspects of the application in more than 80 % of cases.

Conclusion

The importance of using such systems is highlighted in the Covid-19 pandemic condition where certain health protocols must be followed. For instance, people must avoid unnecessary traveling and limit their referrals to medical centers especially dental clinics due to the high volume of aerosols produced during dental treatment procedures.

How to deal with coronavirus disease 2019: A comprehensive narrative review about oral involvement of the disease

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this narrative review was to collect all findings from literature about oral signs and symptoms of COVID-19, in order to draw a picture of oral involvement of this challenging viral infection, to help oral professionals in a better triage and early diagnosis.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The search for international literature was made including articles written in English and reporting about oral manifestations in patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19. The publication time was limited to 2019 and 2020, up to May 20, 2020. A narrative review was performed.

RESULTS

Twenty-three articles were included in this review. Three different oral manifestations were found: taste alteration, oral blister and ulcers, and oral lesions associated with Kawasaki-like diseases (erythema, bleeding of lips, "strawberry tongue"). The higher expression of Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 in the oral cavity and in endothelial cells might be responsible for oral manifestation and the major report of signs and symptoms in the occidental countries.

CONCLUSIONS

Detecting oral signs and symptoms of COVID-19 could be useful to perform a better preliminary triage in dental setting, and in recognizing possible early manifestations of the disease. However, considering the outbreak of COVID-19 and the consequent difficulty of undergoing oral examinations, the oral manifestations might be misdiagnosed; then, we would encourage oral professionals to perform other studies about this topic.

A Snapshot of Knowledge about Oral Cancer in Italy: A 505 Person Survey

Objectives: Patients' knowledge about oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) plays an important role in primary prevention, early diagnosis, and prognosis and survival rate. The aim of this study was to assess OSCC awareness attitudes among general population in order to provide information for educational interventions. Methods: A survey delivered as a web-based questionnaire was submitted to 505 subjects (aged from 18 to 76 years) in Italy, and the answers collected were statistically analyzed. Information was collected about existence, incidence, features of lesions, risk factors of oral cancer, and self-inspection habits, together with details about professional reference figures and preventive behaviors. Results: Chi-square tests of independence with adjusted standardized residuals highlighted correlations between population features (age, gender, educational attainment, provenance, medical relationship, or previous diagnoses of oral cancer in family) and knowledge about oral cancer. Conclusions: Knowledge about OSCC among the Italian population is limited, and it might be advisable to implement nudging and sensitive customized campaigns in order to promote awareness and therefore improve the prognosis of this disease.