scholarly journals Reviewing Teledentistry Usage in Canada during COVID-19 to Determine Possible Future Opportunities

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Sonica Singhal ◽  
Shwetabh Mohapatra ◽  
Carlos Quiñonez
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Recovery Phase ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Main Stream ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Rural And Urban

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the limited in-person availability of oral health care providers resulted in an unprecedented utilization of the teledentistry tool. This paper reviews how Canadian organizations supported teledentistry and what can be expected about its usage in the post-pandemic era. An environmental scan across relevant Canadian federal, provincial, and territorial organizations was conducted to review pertinent publicly available documents, including dental regulators’ or associations’ COVID-19 guidance documents, government documents, and media articles. Almost all jurisdictions promoted teledentistry for triaging dental emergencies and screening patients for COVID-19 symptoms but not even half of them have developed guidelines in terms of modalities of usage, handling of personal information, informed consent process, or maintaining standards of practice. During the COVID-19 recovery phase, these advances across Canada will support in developing a comprehensive guidance for teledentistry and possibly specific codes for its utilization. This can create a niche for teledentistry as an adjunct to the main stream dental care delivery where some visits can always be accommodated virtually, reducing disparities in oral healthcare between rural and urban communities. Ultimately, this can potentially make oral health care delivery more effective, efficient, and environmentally friendly in Canada.

A Qualitative Study of Health Care Providers’ Views on Integrating Oral Health into Prenatal Care

2020 ◽  
pp. 238008442096199
Author(s):  
A. Adeniyi ◽  
L. Donnelly ◽  
P. Janssen ◽  
C. Jevitt ◽  
H. von Bergman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Prenatal Care ◽  
Integrated Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Interprofessional Collaboration ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Care Providers

Objective: Providing preventive oral health during prenatal care is a recognized strategy for improving pregnant women’s access to oral health care. This study sought to qualitatively explore the views of health care providers in British Columbia (BC), Canada, on strategies for integrating preventive oral health into prenatal care. Methods: Twenty-four purposefully selected health care providers (13 oral health and 11 prenatal care providers) in Vancouver and Surrey BC participated in audio-recorded semistructured interviews. Interviews lasted from 31 to 61 min, were transcribed verbatim, and were analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis with N-Vivo software. Study validity was ensured via memoing, fieldnotes, member checking, and external audit. Results: Thematic analysis revealed 5 major themes: perception of integrated care, relevance of integrated prenatal oral health, strategies for achieving integrated prenatal oral health, drivers of the integration process, and barriers to integrating oral health during pregnancy. Interprofessional collaboration based on information sharing and communication was identified as a critical factor for integrated care. Oral health checks should be a component of prenatal assessments for achieving integrated prenatal oral health. Participants recommended that prenatal providers should offer oral health education and use screening questions to identify the pregnant woman’s oral health needs. The establishment of referral systems was advocated, while dental assessments and oral prophylaxis via the medical services plan were proposed. The inclusion of dental providers in prenatal teams and educating health care providers on interprofessional collaboration were also supported. Conclusion: Oral health and prenatal providers in BC are positively disposed to adopting integrated preventive prenatal oral health care based on interprofessional collaborative practices. The inclusion of oral health providers in prenatal teams was suggested. Knowledge Transfer Statement: The results of this study can be used by policymakers for advocacy and decision making when planning care delivery programs for women during pregnancy. Including the suggested strategies could lead to increased access to, and utilization of, oral health services among pregnant women.

COVID 19 Aftermath - A Oral Health Care Provider Prospective

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reena Sirohi
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Enormous Amount ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Global Concern

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) is a public health emergency of global concern. Based on the data published by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), the majority of patients were asymptomatic or having mild symptoms but can release an enormous amount of viral load. It posed a worldwide challenge for containment of the infection of COVID-19. As, oral health care providers work in close proximity to the patients’ mouth, they are at higher risk for infection. The aim of this article is to emphasize on special measures to be taken for prevention and potential interventions.

scholarly journals Reopening Oral Health Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic through a Knowledge Exchange Coalition

2021 ◽  
pp. 238008442110119
Author(s):  
M. McNally ◽  
L. Rock ◽  
M. Gillis ◽  
S. Bryan ◽  
C. Boyd ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Return To Work ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Oral Health Services

Background: The COVID-19 novel coronavirus closed oral health care in Nova Scotia (NS) Canada in March 2020. Preparing for a phased reopening, a knowledge exchange coalition (representing government, academia, hospitals, oral health professions, and regulators) developed return-to-work (RTW) guidelines detailing the augmentation of standard practices to ensure safety for patients, oral health care providers (OHPs), and the community. Using online surveys, this study explored the influence of the RTW guidelines and related education on registered NS OHPs during a phased return to work. Methods: Dissemination of R2W guidelines included website or email communiques and interdisciplinary education webinars that coincided with 2 RTW phases approved by the government. Aligned with each phase, all registered dentists, dental hygienists, and dental assistants were invited to complete an online survey to gauge the influence of the coalition-sponsored education and RTW guidelines, confidence, preparedness, and personal protective equipment use before and after the pandemic. Results: Three coalition-sponsored multidisciplinary webinars hosted 3541 attendees prior to RTW. The response to survey 1 was 41% (881/2156) and to survey 2 was 26% (571/2177) of registrants. Survey 1 (82%) and survey 2 (89%) respondents “agreed/strongly agreed” that R2W guidelines were a primary source for guiding return to practice, and most were confident with education received and had the skills needed to effectively treat patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Confidence and preparedness improved in survey 2. Gowns/lab coat use for aerosol-generating procedures increased from 26% to 93%, and the use of full face shields rose from 6% to 93% during the pandemic. Conclusions: A multistakeholder coalition was effective in establishing and communicating comprehensive guidelines and web-based education to ensure unified reintegration of oral health services in NS during a pandemic. This multiorganizational cooperation lay the foundation for responses to subsequent waves of COVID-19 and may serve as an example for collaboratively responding to future public health threats in other settings. Knowledge Transfer Statement: The return-to-work strategy that was developed, disseminated, and assessed through this COVID-19 knowledge exchange coalition will benefit oral health practitioners, professional regulators, government policy makers, and researchers in future pandemic planning.

scholarly journals A Consensus-Based Set of Measures for Oral Health Care

2017 ◽  
Vol 96 (8) ◽  
pp. 881-887 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Baâdoudi ◽  
A. Trescher ◽  
D. Duijster ◽  
N. Maskrey ◽  
F. Gabel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Routine Data ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Dental Practitioners ◽  
Care Systems

Increasingly more responsive and accountable health care systems are demanded, which is characterized by transparency and explicit demonstration of competence by health care providers and the systems in which they work. This study aimed to establish measures of oral health for transparent and explicit reporting of routine data to facilitate more patient-centered and prevention-oriented oral health care. To accomplish this, an intermediate objective was to develop a comprehensive list of topics that a range of stakeholders would perceive as valid, important, and relevant for describing oral health and oral health care. A 4-stage approach was used to develop the list of topics: 1) scoping of literature and its appraisal, 2) a meeting of experts, 3) a 2-stage Delphi process (online), and 4) a World Café discussion. The aim was to create consensus through structured conversations via a range of stakeholders (general dental practitioners, patients, insurers, and policy makers) from the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hungary, and Denmark. The study was part of the ADVOCATE project, and it resulted in a list of 48 topics grouped into 6 clusters: 1) access to dental care, 2) symptoms and diagnosis, 3) health behaviors, 4) oral treatments, 5) oral prevention, and 6) patient perception. All topics can be measured, as they all have a data source with defined numerators and denominators. This study is the first to establish a comprehensive and multiple-stakeholder consented topic list designed for guiding the implementation of transparent and explicit measurement of routine data of oral health and oral health care. Successful measurement within oral health care systems is essential to facilitate learning from variation in practice and outcomes within and among systems, and it potentiates improvement toward more patient-centered and prevention-oriented oral health care.

Systemic sclerosis: Update for oral health care providers

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 418-430
Author(s):  
Fatmah J. Alhendi ◽  
Victoria P. Werth ◽  
Thomas P. Sollecito ◽  
Eric T. Stoopler
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Systemic Sclerosis ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Care Providers

scholarly journals The HIV and SARS-CoV-2 Parallel in Dentistry from the Perspectives of the Oral Health Care Team

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Brondani ◽  
L. Donnelly
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Health Care Team ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Care Team ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Social Unrest ◽  
Aids Pandemic

Objectives: The aim of this study was to unravel the professional and social consequences of COVID-19 as compared with the AIDS pandemic according to oral health care providers, staff, and administrators. Methods: An exploratory qualitative inquiry via at-a-distance, semistructured interviews engaged a purposefully recruited sample of oral health care team workers in British Columbia. Interviews took place between April 20 and May 15, 2020; they were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and deidentified for interactive thematic analysis. An inductive process of coding was used to identify themes, subthemes, and categories of information. Results: Forty-five interviews were conducted with 18 dentists, 12 dental hygienists, 6 certified dental assistants, and 9 administrators; 22 were females. Interviews each lasted an average of 48 min. After the transcripts were coded, 3 subthemes emerged: 1) personal protective equipment and universal precautions as commonsense approaches to care during both pandemics; 2) an (un)collapsed world in terms of global lockdowns; and 3) social unrest in terms of the potential for stigma and discrimination caused by both pandemics. These subthemes made up the COVID-19–AIDS parallel theme. Conclusion: This study explored the extent to which the current COVID-19 pandemic is leading to professional and social consequences when a parallel is drawn with the AIDS pandemic. This is the first qualitative study that identifies the potential social unrest of the pandemic from the perspective of oral health care providers and administrators. Future studies should include other providers across Canada, as well the patients receiving oral health care during this pandemic. Knowledge Transfer Statement: The COVID-19 pandemic has unraveled potential societal implications in a parallel to the HIV/AIDS era from the perspectives of oral health care providers and their staff. Such implications are changing the way that oral health care is delivered; it may also be leading to social unrest in the form of stigma and discrimination. This study discusses some of these implications from the perspective of oral health care providers and administrators.

Integrated oral, mental and sexual health management for adolescents: a call for professional collaboration

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Morenike O. Folayan ◽  
Abiola A. Adeniyi ◽  
Elizabeth O. Oziegbe ◽  
Adesegun O. Fatusi ◽  
Abigail Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Substance Abuse ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Oral Manifestations ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Intentional Injuries

Abstract Background: Globally, young people account for 15.5% of the total global disability-adjusted life-years burden for all age groups. They face mental health, nutritional problems, accidental and intentional injuries, sexual and reproductive health problems, and substance abuse. These health challenges have effects on their oral health. This paper discusses the oral health problems adolescents face and suggests approaches for providing integrated oral and general health care for adolescents. Discussion: Oral health issues linked with adolescent health concerns include: malocclusion and esthetic concerns linked with mental health status; oral and maxillofacial injuries linked with accidental and intentional injuries; oral manifestations of sexually transmitted infections; oral leukoplakia and oral cancers linked with alcohol, tobacco and psychoactive substance abuse; and oral manifestations of anemia resulting from nutritional problems. Training oral health care providers on adolescent health and care could promote prompt diagnosis, management and prevention of complications associated with major health challenges affecting adolescents. Conclusion: Adolescent oral health care needs focused attention: as a possible route for early diagnosis and management of general health problems and for promoting adolescent oral health care. Oral health care should be integrated into adolescent friendly services and oral health care providers should learn how to handle adolescents’ health needs.

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