Oral home telecare for adults with tetraplegia: a feasibility study

Abstract

This pilot study investigated the feasibility of delivering an individualized program of oral home telecare training using PC-based, real-time interactive videoconferencing via the Internet to meet the unique challenges of dental care for people with tetraplegia. A home-based videoconferencing method was tested with two adults with tetraplegia and an occupational therapist (rehabilitation specialist). As part of the proposed rehabilitation training to improve independence in performing oral hygiene, adaptive devices (a rechargeable oscillating-rotating power toothbrush and a cordless oral irrigator) were introduced to facilitate oral care performance with interactive, Web-based instruction. Training was conducted once a week for 4 weeks. The oral home telecare experience was evaluated using a questionnaire and in-depth interviews after the training. Both subjects were satisfied with the oral home telecare services and were enthusiastic about using the services without major difficulty after having previously experienced barriers to dental care. In addition to their positive perceptions about videoconferencing, the subjects suggested adaptations and identified unexpected potential uses for interactive videoconferencing. The use of interactive videoconferencing as a mode of oral hygiene training may lead to a change in oral hygiene service delivery methods, improving accessibility to geographically dispersed populations with tetraplegia. Oral home telecare offers strategies to decrease physical barriers and communication difficulties that correspond to recommendations to improve the quality of dental health services for people with tetraplegia.

Dental Care Access and the Elderly: What Is the Role of Teledentistry? A Systematic Review

“…Papers concerning older people at in-home assistance are null. Only two studies reporting oral home telecare for adults with tetraplegia are available, showing that oral home telecare offers the opportunity to decrease physical barriers and to improve the quality of dental health services for people at in-home assistance [31,32].…”

Effects of telerehabilitation in occupational therapy practice: A systematic review

“…The pathologies of the participants varied. They included hemiplegic cerebral palsy (Ferre et al, 2017;Golomb et al, 2010;Reifenberg et al, 2017), stroke (Boehm et al, 2015;Hermann et al, 2010;Lawson et al, 2017;Linder et al, 2015), acquired brain injury (Bergquist et al, 2008), traumatic brain injury (Ng et al, 2013), breast cancer survivors undergoing chemotherapy (Hegel et al, 2011), tetraplegia (Yuen & Pope, 2009), community-dwelling older adults (Breeden, 2016), orthopaedic issues (Nix & Comans, 2017), autism spectrum disorders (Gibbs & Toth-Cohen, 2011) and visual-motor and/or fine motor deficits (Criss, 2013).…”

Effect of a home telecare program on oral health among adults with tetraplegia: a pilot study

“…17 which was adapted from the Telemedicine Satisfaction and Usefulness Questionnaire (TSUQ) and the Telemedicine Perception Questionnaire. 20,21 The psychometric properties of the TSUQ and Telemedicine Perception Questionnaire provided strong evidence to support the construct validity and reliability (internal consistency and test-retest) of the instrument.…”

“…16 A feasibility study using a personal computer (PC)-based videoconferencing as a mode of delivering oral hygiene training in the use of assistive devices was successfully tested on two community-dwelling women with tetraplegia. 17 Extending this feasibility study, the aim of the present trial was to evaluate the efficacy of using videoconferencing to deliver oral hygiene training in the use of assistive devices to improve gingival health among people with tetraplegia, and to explore their oral home telecare experience.…”