Effect of Teledentistry and Outcome for Dental Professionals at Saudi Arabia: A Systematic scoping Review
Author(s): Mohammed Aljohani*, Bakheet Aldosari, Abdullah Alanazi and Ghala Alotaibi
Abstract
Introduction: Dental care is a crucial aspect not only for oral health but also for overall individual health. Teledentistry (TD) offers data acquisition based on computational application and informatics to ease dental practice, education, and research. Aims: The current study aims to assess the impact of TD and its outcome on dental professionals in Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: A detailed scientific literature search was made using the most relevant scientific studies from 2000 onwards to achieve the objective. Multiple databases, including PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Scielo databases, were explored for Teledentistry and its impact on dental professionals. Results: A total of 176 articles from different databases and screened for relevancy. Duplicate studies (16) were excluded in preliminary screening. Further, 151 studies were excluded considering predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. A total of 9 studies with 1008 dental patients with active dental problems and 435 dental professionals for a questionnaire-based survey among Dental professionals were selected for the systematic review. Two criteria were selected to assess the impact and outcome of TD on the dental professional; one patient outcome and second dental professional competency in TD as part of dental practice. Here, among selected studies, both patients and dental professionals were satisfied with TD for a dental practice in diagnosis and treatment. Conclusions: TD had shown a promising impact on dental professionals in offering dental care practice and service. New modern cutting-edge technological innovation will further improve and enhance the promising effect of TD on dental professional.