ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Non-traumatic dental condition visits (NTDCs) represent about 1.4% to 2% of all Emergency Department (ED) visits and are limited to palliative care only, while associated with high cost of care. Feasibility of establishing a tele-dental approach to manage NTDCs in ED and Urgent care (UC) settings was undertaken to explore the possibility of utilizing remote tele-dental consults. METHODS: Participants with NTDCs in ED/UCs were examined extra and intra-orally: (1) directly by ED provider, (2) remotely by tele-dental examiner (trained dentist) using intra-oral camera and high-definition pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera, (3) directly by treating dentist post ED/UC visit (if applicable) and, (4) secondary assessment by tele-dental reviewer. Comparisons were drawn between differential diagnoses and recommended managements provided by ED/UC providers, tele-dental examiner, treating dentist, and tele-dental reviewer. RESULTS: 13 patients participated in the study. The overall inter-rater agreement between the tele-dental examiner and tele-dental reviewer was high while it was low between tele-dentists and the ED providers. The preliminary testing of tele-dental intervention in the ED/UC setting demonstrated potential feasibility in addressing the NTDC landing in ED/UC. Larger interventional studies in multi-site setting are needed to validate this approach and especially evaluate impact on cost, ED/UC workflow and patient outcomes. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Using tele-dentistry to triage non-traumatic dental visits to the emergency room may be a promising approach. Once this approach is validated through a larger study, tele-dental outreach could help in directing non-traumatic dental emergency patients to the appropriate dental setting to provide treatment for the patients.
