The Application and Benefits of Teledentistry Nowadays: A Narrative Study
Alan Henrique Goulart, Josué de Almeida, Lucas Campos Capucho, João Pedro de Souza Silva, Luiz Henrique Lima, Carlos Alberto Muzilli and Mariane Michels*
Department of Odontologia, University of Sorocaba, Brazil
*Corresponding Author: Mariane Michels, Department of Odontologia, University of Sorocaba, Brazil.
Received: April 12, 2023; Published: May 15, 2023
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic was one of the worst health crises in history, due to the high incidence and lethality rate and the lack of knowledge about this new virus. With the lack of effective treatments, non-pharmacological measures were adopted, such as social distancing, use of masks, and prohibition of events with agglomerations to contain the pandemic. Health services also suffered restrictions, and in dentistry, elective treatments were canceled, attending only urgencies. In this pandemic scenario and the need for continuity of care to the population, telehealth services were strengthened. Based on this, this work aimed to verify the benefits of teledentistry nowadays and during the pandemic, in addition to present the difficulties for its implementation. The present work was made based on a literature review of articles related to teledentistry, telehealth, and COVID-19 pandemic using the following platforms: Pubmed, Medline, Scielo, Lilacs, Cochrane and Google scholar. It can be concluded that teledentistry, as well as telehealth services, is a promising tool within society since its implementation implies benefits such as cost reduction and improved access to health services. Its use proved to be effective during the pandemic because it provided a reduction of the spread of the virus while preserving the provision of care. To carry out its implementation, it is necessary to get over some barriers such as the lack of knowledge of professionals and precariousness of resources, in view of this, there is the need to create concise policies and training courses about the subject.
Keywords: Telehealth; Teledentistry; COVID-19 Pandemic; Public Health Dentistry; eHealth Policies
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