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Background Teledentistry, defined as the use of telecommunication technologies for dental care, has emerged as a transformative approach to oral health services. This prospective observational analysis aims to comprehensively assess the impact of teledentistry on patient outcomes and satisfaction, addressing key aspects such as diagnostic accuracy, longitudinal treatment outcomes, and economic and logistical considerations. Methods The study involved 242 participants selected from diverse dental clinics offering teledentistry services. Participants could choose between traditional in-person visits and teledentistry consultations. The teledentistry interventions included remote consultations, diagnostic evaluations, and treatment planning facilitated through virtual communication tools. Baseline assessments captured initial dental conditions, and follow-up assessments were conducted at three, six, and 12 months. Outcome measures included diagnostic accuracy, patient satisfaction, changes in dental conditions over time, and economic and logistical feedback. Results Descriptive statistics revealed baseline characteristics, with participants evenly distributed between in-person and teledentistry groups. However, the overall satisfaction with diagnoses was significantly lower in the teledentistry group as compared to the in-person group (p < 0.001). Longitudinal assessments demonstrated comparable changes in dental conditions between the two groups. Economic feedback highlighted a cost-saving advantage for teledentistry users, with 80% reporting reduced expenses. Conclusion This study highlights the transformative potential of teledentistry in expanding access to oral health services, reducing costs, and providing comparable treatment outcomes to traditional in-person care. Future efforts should focus on enhancing the teledentistry experience, addressing patient satisfaction concerns, and refining the delivery of remote dental care to maximize its benefits for both patients and healthcare systems.
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INTRODUCTION: Oral cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Early recognition leads to higher cure rates and better quality of life. Homeopathy and Ayurveda can help improve the general well-being and vitality of patients without inducing any side effects. AIM: To assess knowledge, opinion, and practices towards oral cancer among homeopathy and ayurvedic students. OBJECTIVES: To find the correlation between knowledge and practices followed by homeopathy and ayurvedic students. METHOD: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 157 homeopathy and 153 ayurvedic students in Indore city, Central India. The subjects were selected using a convenient sampling technique, and the data was collected using a pre-tested close-ended self-administered questionnaire with 24 questions. The data were analyzed by IBM Corp. Released 2011. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 20.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp. using descriptive and analytical (Chi-square and independent sample t-tests) statistics. Correlation analysis was performed to assess the relation between knowledge and preventive practices score. RESULTS: Homeopathy students showed a significantly higher mean knowledge (4.74+0.96) and practice score (4.82+1.54) as compared to ayurvedic students (knowledge score 4.49+1.11) (practice score 4.09+1.98). No significant differences were observed in the mean knowledge and practice scores of the homeopathy students. There was a statistically significant difference between the mean knowledge score and practice score of third-, fourth-, and fifth-year ayurvedic students at p-value <0.05. A positive (p-value <0.0001) correlation was observed between the knowledge and practice scores for ayurvedic students. As the year of professional studies increased, the overall practice of the students regarding oral cancer also increased, with fifth-year students showing significantly better practice (OR- 1, p-value = <0.05) than the other year students. Conclusion: Homeopathy students showed better knowledge, whereas ayurvedic students showed better opinions and practices towards oral cancer.
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BACKGROUND: Lymph nodes undergo reactive changes in response to a wide variety of stimuli, the most common cause being inflammatory and immune reactions, apart from primary malignant neoplasms and metastatic tumours. It is well accepted that a clinical examination alone cannot be considered diagnostic to justify the involvement of cervicofacial lymph nodes especially deep and small nodes. Ultrasonography is an easy, reproducible, non invasive, non-ionizing imaging modality to evaluate cervicofacial lymph nodes. AIM: The present study was devised with an aim of comparing the clinical and ultrasonographic features of cervicofacial lymphadenopathy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The subjects for the study were selected from the patients who visited the outpatient department with clinically palpable lymph nodes. Fifty two patients were included in the study and they were divided into 4 groups; group I (subjects with odontogenic infections), group II (subjects with non odontogenic oral conditions), group III (subjects with tuberculosis) and group IV (subjects with head and neck carcinomas). A detailed case history was recorded and a thorough clinical examination was carried out for all subjects. The cervicofacial lymph nodes were palpated and examined. Ultrasonographic examination of cervicofacial lymph nodes was carried out and recorded. The statistical analysis was done using chi square test. RESULT AND CONCLUSION: Most of the subjects considered for the study showed cervicofacial lymphadenopathy associated with odontogenic causes, specific infections like tuberculosis and head and neck malignancies. The lymph nodes showed varied clinical features. The ultrasonographic features such as number, size, shape, short axis/long axis ratio, border sharpness, hilum, echogenicity, distribution of the internal echoes, intranodal necrosis, matting or soft tissue edema were evaluated. The results were tabulated and statistical analysis was done.