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Effectiveness of Telemedicine and Teledentistry after the COVID-19 Pandemic

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  • Thomas Gerhard Wolf

    (Department of Restorative, Preventive and Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland
    Department of Periodontology and Operative Dentistry, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, D-55131 Mainz, Germany)

  • Ralf Kurt Willy Schulze

    (Department of Oral Surgery and Stomatology, Division of Oral Diagnostic Sciences, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland)

  • Francisco Ramos-Gomez

    (UCLA Center for Children’s Oral Health (UCCOH), UCLA School of Dentistry, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1668, USA)

  • Guglielmo Campus

    (Department of Restorative, Preventive and Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland
    Department of Surgery, Microsurgery and Medicine Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Sassari, I-07100 Sassari, Italy)

Abstract

Telemedicine has become increasingly important worldwide over the last two decades. As a new field, it became known especially during the COVID-19 pandemic; this review presents fields of activity with special attention to opportunities and risks. Numerous areas of application offer the possibility for broad use in the medical and dental care landscape in diagnostics, therapy, rehabilitation, and decision advice across a spatial distance. Technical and semantic standards are required, and profiles and guidelines are increasingly defined and organized. Medical/dental consultations have been established in various regions around the world as a response to pandemic challenges and have made video and online emergency consultations possible. Telemedicine applications are already regularly used in medical/dental emergencies, regardless of the pandemic situation, both for transport by train and by plane, from which patients benefit. However, legal hurdles are often still unresolved, but infrastructure challenges both for provider, user hard- and software also complicate deployment. Problems are particularly prevalent in the absence of necessary internet coverage or among socially disadvantaged and vulnerable groups who cannot afford expensive equipment or do not know how to use the technology. Broad access must be enabled, and hardware and software interfaces and updates must be regularly checked and updated. Telemedicine might also improve access to and delivery of oral and general health care support both for rural and urban areas with low costs. Even though dentistry and many medical specialties are still performed clinically by means of practical/manual examination, there are areas of diagnostics where telemedicine applications can provide good support. Therefore, as conclusions, access, and delivery of telemedicine applications in dentistry and medicine should be expanded and improved to provide access to all population groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Gerhard Wolf & Ralf Kurt Willy Schulze & Francisco Ramos-Gomez & Guglielmo Campus, 2022. "Effectiveness of Telemedicine and Teledentistry after the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-11, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:21:p:13857-:d:952365
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Maria Grazia Cagetti & Araxi Balian & Nicole Camoni & Guglielmo Campus, 2021. "Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Dental Emergency Admissions in an Urgent Dental Care Service in North Italy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-10, February.
    2. Thomas Gerhard Wolf & James Deschner & Harald Schrader & Peter Bührens & Gudrun Kaps-Richter & Maria Grazia Cagetti & Guglielmo Campus, 2021. "Dental Workload Reduction during First SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 Lockdown in Germany: A Cross-Sectional Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-10, March.
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