Our incredible brains consist of 100 billion neurons to perform exquisite cognitive functions such as interpreting, predicting, and responding to relevant stimuli. But that does not make problem-solving easy, particularly when it comes to patient care.
As the pandemic continues to affect all of us and our lifestyles, the usage of teledentistry (TD) has increased. Compared to the beginning of the pandemic, when many dentists in private practice closed offices out of necessity, now more practitioners are offering the service as an adjunct to in-office visits.
Pictured here is the model for a virtual dental home concept at the University of Pacific School of Dentistry. Using cloud technology, the university is able to manage a program that delivers care to virtual dental homes for traditionally underserved populations. You can read more about this program in the winter issue of Mouth, available online now.
Is teledentistry and the virtual dental home the future of dentistry? While only time will tell, this model serves as an attempt to address dentistry’s barriers to care issue. But before we can look into its efficacy, we are faced with the question: Is this model ethical?
