Diagnostic Value of Teledentistry Examinations Applied to Pediatric Patients

Objectives: To describe the use of teledentistry to measure the state of urgency, diagnose and establish a future treatment plan for Chilean pediatric patients of a dental charity in the year 2022.
Methods: A retrospective review of the medical and dental records of 41 Chilean pediatric patients from the Santiago Metropolitan Region and its surroundings was performed. The respective tutors contacted the "Mamá Odontopediatra" charity and filled out an initial online form with the required information. Once the data was collected, the patients had an initial live teledentistry appointment with a remotely located dentist. Based on the information gathered, the level of urgency was established (such as urgent, non-urgent, or in need of preventive maintenance), a diagnostic hypothesis was formulated, and they were divided into groups of possible treatment pathways (treatment under general anesthesia, referral to regular care, or referral to regular care for patients with disabilities).
Results: 41 patients (63.4% male) with a mean age of 6.1 years (sd, 2.71 years) were examined using teledentistry from March 8 to December 28, 2022.
Following the classification of level of urgency, it was determined that 90.2% of the patients (37) were in an urgent state, 4.9% (2) in a state established as non-urgent and the remaining 4.9% (2) were classified as patients in need of preventive maintenance. It was also established that 14 patients (34.1%) should be treated under general anesthesia, 15 (36.6%) should be referred to regular care, and 12 (29.3%) should be referred to regular care for patients with disabilities.
Conclusions: We provide evidence that teledentistry can be used to perform a general assessment of the patient's oral health, assess the urgency of the particular case, and is feasible for treatment pathway planning in this type of setting.