Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Spring 2022 - 22

Advocacy and Legislative Update
monitoring and digital workflows showcase how this
can be done without violating state dental board
statutes.
Rural Outreach
Perhaps the biggest positive outcome from the
adoption of teledentistry was improving access to
care, both in urban and rural settings. When people in
rural areas need a dentist, they are often left having to
drive several hours before being able to be seen. With
teledentistry options, these patients now have access
to a dentist virtually who can perform a virtual triage,
prescribe pain management services, and then refer
the patient to a local dentist for follow-up care.5
Emergency Room Diversion
The US health care system is burdened with an annual
cost of $1.6 billion related to nontraumatic dental
emergencies.6
visits,6
With an average cost of $749 for such
having patients initially triaged by a virtual dentist
is a fraction of that cost and saves countless hours
of waiting in an emergency room. The widespread
adoption of teledentistry will help save the system
billions of dollars over just a few short years.
Conclusion
As one can see from the various modalities for which
teledentistry is being used, the future of dental and
orthodontic practices will likely continue to be a
collaboration between existing in-person services and
interactive teledentistry platforms. Clinicians will continue
to run their practices, providing in-office services
to their patients while using telehealth platforms. The
combination of teledentistry and in-person services
will pave the way for a seamless digital transformation
of dental offices where patient interactions happen
both virtually and in person. This transition into a
collaborative virtual and in-person workflow will save
all parties concerned time and money and, most importantly,
provide a level of convenience for patients
that the dental profession has been sorely lacking for
several years.
References
1. Delta Dental. COVID-19 by the numbers. 2021. https://
fyi-online.com/2021/11/covid-by-the-numbers/. Accessed
March 22, 2022.
2. Delta Dental. New teledentistry coverage. 2021. https://
www.deltadentalia.com/about-us/news/corporate/
teledentistry/. Accessed March 22, 2022.
3. Teledentistry.com. Teledentistry support organization.
2021. https://teledentistry.com/tso/. Accessed March 22,
2022.
4. Teledentix. What is a teledentistry support organization
(TSO)? 2020. https://blog.teledentix.com/what-is-ateledentistry-support-organization-tso/.
Accessed March
22, 2022.
5. Teledentistry.com. Homepage. 2021. https://teledentistry.
com/. Accessed March 22, 2022.
6. American Dental Association. 2015. Emergency department
use for dental conditions continues to increase. http://
mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/wusf/files/201802/ADA.
pdf. Accessed March 22, 2022.
22
PCSO Bulletin Spring 2022

https://www.fyi-online.com/2021/11/covid-by-the-numbers/ https://www.fyi-online.com/2021/11/covid-by-the-numbers/ https://www.deltadentalia.com/about-us/news/corporate/teledentistry https://www.deltadentalia.com/about-us/news/corporate/teledentistry https://www.deltadentalia.com/about-us/news/corporate/teledentistry http://Teledentistry.com https://teledentistry.com/tso/ https://blog.teledentix.com/what-is-a-teledentistry-support-organization-tso/ https://blog.teledentix.com/what-is-a-teledentistry-support-organization-tso/ http://Teledentistry.com https://teledentistry.com/ https://teledentistry.com/ http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/wusf/files/201802/ADA.pdf http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/wusf/files/201802/ADA.pdf http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/wusf/files/201802/ADA.pdf

Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Spring 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Spring 2022