IADR Abstract Archives
Use of Teledentistry by Elderly Population and their Caregivers: Systematic-Review
Objectives: People's oral health has worsened with the sanitary crisis due to COVID-19, revealing inequalities in dental access, especially in underserved populations like the elderly. Teledentistry emerges as a tool to improve the oral health of this population. However, its utilization and access have been scarcely studied within this age group and their caregivers. This systematic review revised the evidence about their experiences of teledentistry use compared to traditional interventions or their previous experiences.
Methods: A systematic review was conducted by searching in three databases (Medline via PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science). A predefined searching strategy was developed according to a PICO-question framework. All types of clinical studies were included, without limits in publication year or language. Both the selection and the data extraction were carried out independently and in duplicate.
Results: From 1,516 potentially eligible titles, 18 articles were selected to read as full-text. After confirming their eligibility, five studies were included (quasi-experimental (n=4) and observational (n=1)). The interventions used were video calls (n=3), online platform (n=1) or application (n=1). Studies reported formal (n=2) or informal (n=1) caregivers. Most studies were a qualitative evaluation of the experiences, perceptions, knowledge, and practices of oral hygiene (n=4), satisfaction degree (n=2), acceptance (n=1), usability (n=1), and quality of life associated with oral health (n=1). Overall, studies classified the experiences of using teledentistry as positive. Just one study reported that caregivers presented difficulties on the implementation. The bias of risk was judged as moderate using ROBINS-I. The descriptive nature of data, plus the heterogenicity among studies, prevented us from performing a meta-analysis.
Conclusions: Our findings show that teledentistry is perceived as a positive and acceptable approach; however, the available evidence on this age group is still limited. Further research should consider the socio-economic and cultural context of the population on which it is applied (PROSPERO CRD42021243722).
Methods: A systematic review was conducted by searching in three databases (Medline via PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science). A predefined searching strategy was developed according to a PICO-question framework. All types of clinical studies were included, without limits in publication year or language. Both the selection and the data extraction were carried out independently and in duplicate.
Results: From 1,516 potentially eligible titles, 18 articles were selected to read as full-text. After confirming their eligibility, five studies were included (quasi-experimental (n=4) and observational (n=1)). The interventions used were video calls (n=3), online platform (n=1) or application (n=1). Studies reported formal (n=2) or informal (n=1) caregivers. Most studies were a qualitative evaluation of the experiences, perceptions, knowledge, and practices of oral hygiene (n=4), satisfaction degree (n=2), acceptance (n=1), usability (n=1), and quality of life associated with oral health (n=1). Overall, studies classified the experiences of using teledentistry as positive. Just one study reported that caregivers presented difficulties on the implementation. The bias of risk was judged as moderate using ROBINS-I. The descriptive nature of data, plus the heterogenicity among studies, prevented us from performing a meta-analysis.
Conclusions: Our findings show that teledentistry is perceived as a positive and acceptable approach; however, the available evidence on this age group is still limited. Further research should consider the socio-economic and cultural context of the population on which it is applied (PROSPERO CRD42021243722).