INTRODUCTION: Socially disadvantaged children have limited access to orthodontic services. We examined the feasibility of a general dental practitioner providing interceptive orthodontic services to disadvantaged children with real-time supervision from an orthodontist using teledentistry. METHODS: Pretreatment and posttreatment orthodontic study models of 30 children treated by a general dentist using teledentistry and 96 children treated by orthodontic residents directly supervised by orthodontic faculty were scored with the peer assessment rating (PAR) index. RESULTS: Both groups had significant improvements in PAR scores: 35.6% in the teledentistry group and 44.1% in the direct supervision group (P <0.001). There were no significant differences between the groups before treatment or after interceptive orthodontic treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that interceptive orthodontic treatments provided by sufficiently prepared general dentists and supervised remotely by orthodontic specialists through teledentistry are a viable approach to reducing the severity of malocclusions in disadvantaged children when referral to an orthodontist is not feasible.
INTRODUCTION: Socially disadvantaged children have limited access to orthodontic services. We examined the feasibility of a general dental practitioner providing interceptive orthodontic services to disadvantaged children with real-time supervision from an orthodontist using teledentistry. METHODS: Pretreatment and posttreatment orthodontic study models of 30 children treated by a general dentist using teledentistry and 96 children treated by orthodontic residents directly supervised by orthodontic faculty were scored with the peer assessment rating (PAR) index. RESULTS: Both groups had significant improvements in PAR scores: 35.6% in the teledentistry group and 44.1% in the direct supervision group (P <0.001). There were no significant differences between the groups before treatment or after interceptive orthodontic treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that interceptive orthodontic treatments provided by sufficiently prepared general dentists and supervised remotely by orthodontic specialists through teledentistry are a viable approach to reducing the severity of malocclusions in disadvantaged children when referral to an orthodontist is not feasible.
Authors: Cassius C Torres-Pereira; Imara de Almeida Castro Morosini; Renata Seleme Possebon; Allan Fernando Giovanini; Marcelo Carlos Bortoluzzi; Jair Carneiro Leão; Cleto Mariosvaldo Piazzetta Journal: Telemed J E Health Date: 2013-01-28 Impact factor: 3.536
Authors: Nalia Gurgel-Juarez; Cassius Torres-Pereira; Ana E Haddad; Lisa Sheehy; Hillel Finestone; Karen Mallet; Michael Wiseman; Kannika Hour; Heather L Flowers Journal: Evid Based Dent Date: 2022-07-08