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Should dental schools adopt teledentistry in their curricula? Two viewpoints
Author(s) -
Amin Maryam,
Lai Jim Yuan,
Lindauer Paul A.,
McPherson Karen,
Qari Hiba
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of dental education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.53
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1930-7837
pISSN - 0022-0337
DOI - 10.1002/jdd.12614
Subject(s) - curriculum , government (linguistics) , medicine , medical education , nursing , business , public relations , political science , psychology , pedagogy , linguistics , philosophy
Teledentistry is a cutting edge technology that could be used to improve access to care to underserved populations and those in remote areas. Objectives To discuss the advantages and disadvantages of adopting teledentistry into the predoctoral dental curriculum. Methods Two teams of dentists reviewed the pros and cons of introducing teledentistry into the predoctoral dental curriculum. Results Viewpoint 1 produced evidence that teledentistry is a cutting‐edge technology that can improve access to care for underserved populations in a practical, cost‐effective manner. Viewpoint 2 showed evidence that teledentistry is too new to have an evidence base to support its widespread use, legal and regulatory requirements have not been established and there is no precedent for third party payers to reimburse for this service. Conclusion The authors feel that a national teledentistry policy should be developed starting at the state level with stakeholders from the dental profession, dental education, government, patient advocates, and third party payers working together to determine the best way forward.