Acceptance of Teledentistry by Brazilian Dentists

Abstract

(WHO); European Union (EU), International Telecomunications Agencies (ITA) and Spacial European Agency (SEA), adopted oficially "eHealth" (eHealth), as an oficial term, after that turnning point different health professions started to use the telehealth, for clinical;administrative and educatonal tools in health [2]. The refletion of the use of tecnology of information (TIs) in public service, has stimulated the dialogue between diferent social actors, compromise with the quality and resolutivity of health care. In Brazil, telehealth was criated by Minister of Health in 2007 [3]. The most commom use of telehealth is related to diagnosstic; planning individual and coletive strategies, related to family strategy second opinion and continued education [4][5][6].It is important to have in mind that telehealth, shoud be used in a large spectrum. As health, is directly related to oral health. Periodontal infecctions contributes to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and thromboembolic events by promoting repeated systemic vascular changes resulting from the presence of endotoxin, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukins which can induce the secretion of acute-phase proteins , such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen [7,8].One of the mechanisms in which diabetes is regarded as a risk factor for the occurrence and severity of periodontal disease, is its production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF -alpha) production, which prevents the bone tissue to repair [9]. Many studies have demonstrated that control of periodontal infection can improve the diabetic glycemic control [10]. In the last two decades there is evidence that support the concept thatPeriodontal Disease can have adverse effects on organs and tissues in remote locations, being the major causes of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, diabets and preterm birth [11,12]. From the introduction above it is fair to evaluate the use of telehealth in dentistry, teledentistry, from the dentists point of view, in order to identify if Brazilian dentists were read to use teledentistry as a second opinion as well in continuing education.Teledentistry is a relatively new field that combines telecommunication technology and dental care [13]. In recent years, the use of computers and the advancement of informatics have generated interest in the ability to generate threedimensional images in a high resolution. Computed Tomography Cone Beam (CTCB) was successfully introduced a third dimension to Dentistry. This equipment has an great precision and the large scale use of scans and all kind of digital X-ray images, created the need to share these information's among professionals, students and patients [14][15][16]. These was achieved by the Teledentistry [17,18]. This tool might be used on a large scale in rural communities, increasing patient access to experts and reducing costs and time of travelling. The Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology, together with São Paulo University, adopted...

Assessment of Knowledge and Attitude Regarding Teledentistry Among Dental Professionals: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The comparison of results in the literature indicated that knowledge about teledentistry differs by country, level of education, and years of experience [13][14][15][16][17]. Dental students were found to be less knowledgeable and enthusiastic about teledentistry than dental faculty or practicing dentists [16].…”

“…Despite many studies showing that most dentists and dental students wished to practice teledentistry in the future [14,17], approximately 26-31.4% of respondents did not think that teledentistry was efficient in many respects [15][16][17]. The studies also highlighted some barriers to teledentistry implementation that included the high cost of technology, lack of available technology, lack of human resources [17], lack of computer skills among dentists, and need to perform manual work rather than online procedures [18]. Few responses (29.5%) agreed that specialty treatment was possible without any compromise on the quality of care.…”