Is Tele-Dentistry an Effective Approach for Patient Follow-up in Maxillofacial Surgery

PURPOSE: To explore the feasibility and diagnostic accuracy of the tele-dentistry for the follow-up of different diagnostic groups of Turkish patients in maxillofacial surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, follow-up patients were allocated to four groups as dental implant, minor surgical procedure, infection-medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaws (MRONJ) and temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD). In all groups, remote examination via video call and subsequently face-to-face clinic examination were performed. The quality and accuracy of the video call were scored by the same investigator. Also, patient satisfaction regarding the video call was evaluated with a questionnaire. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients (12 females, 9 males) between 18 and 71 years (38.90 ± 17.88) participated in the study. A strong preference of 71% and 95% toward video call by patients was seen in the questionnaires performed after video call and face-to-face examination, respectively. Regarding the rating of the clinician, no significant differences were found between groups in terms of the quality and accuracy of video call (p ≥ 0.05). CONCLUSION: Remote follow up of diagnostic groups which can benefit from tele-dentistry pose a promising remedy that is reliable as in-person visits and also can reduce the clinical visits in routine clinical practice.