Teledentistry: is it the future of rural dental practice? A cross-sectional study

Aim: To bridge the gap between urban and rural population, a vast number of researches are being carried out. Teledentistry is one of the technological advances in dentistry. It is defined by Cook in 1997 as "the practice of using video-conferencing technologies to diagnose and provide advice a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of pharmacy & bioallied science 2020-08, Vol.12 (5), p.304-307
Main Authors: Mathivanan, Abirami, Gopalakrishnan, Janani, Dhayanithi, Aparnna, Narmatha, Mudiarasu, Bharathan, Khaniya, Saranya, KKN
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
advances
Confidence intervals
Cross-sectional studies
dental education
Dentistry
Dentists
internet
Medicine
Original
Practice
Questionnaires
Rural areas
telecommunication
teledentistry
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Summary:Aim: To bridge the gap between urban and rural population, a vast number of researches are being carried out. Teledentistry is one of the technological advances in dentistry. It is defined by Cook in 1997 as "the practice of using video-conferencing technologies to diagnose and provide advice about treatment over a distance." This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of teledentistry among general dentists in and around Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, India. Materials and Methods: A self-administered closed-ended questionnaire was designed. The questions were divided into three sections based on knowledge, attitude, and practice. Data collected from the questionnaire were entered in Microsoft Excel. Level of significance (P < 0.05) was set at 95% confidence interval and P < 0.01 at 99% confidence interval was maintained, and the data were statistically analyzed. Results: The majority of the dentists had less knowledge about teledentistry. About 73% of the dentists believe that teledentistry can provide access of specialists to the rural population. Conclusion: Of the dentists, 90% agree that teledentistry would be the major advancement in the future; however, there needs to be a specific module of operation and promotion of the module in future.
ISSN:0975-7406
0976-4879
0975-7406
DOI:10.4103/jpbs.JPBS_91_20