520 - The Utility and Satisfaction of Teledentistry in a Pediatric Hospital Dental Clinic

Purpose: Teledentistry gained interest as a novel means to deliver care during COVID-19. This study aimed to compare parent-reported experiences and satisfaction with teledentistry visits to in-clinic visits.

Methods: Parents whose child completed a teledentistry visit or in-person clinic visit for new patient and recall visits between September and December 2021 at Boston Children’s Hospital were invited to participate in this prospective cohort study. A RedCap survey querying care access, satisfaction, and feasibility of the teledentistry visit was emailed to subjects one week after their visit.

Results: Surveys were completed by parents of 103 teledentistry subjects and 238 in-clinic subjects. Among in-clinic respondents, 95.7% were satisfied and 94% felt the visit purpose was accomplished. Teledentistry respondents were similarly satisfied, as 93.2% were satisfied with their visit and 91.1% felt that the visit purpose was accomplished. Teledentistry visits were reported to be significantly more convenient compared to in-clinic visits (P <0.001), and significantly less parents had to take time off work for a teledentistry visit compared to those whose child was seen in-clinic (P <0.0001). Significantly more parents who participated in teledentistry visits reported that they preferred teledentistry visits over in-clinic visits (P <0.0001). The majority of in-clinic participants, however, would not have preferred a teledentistry visit instead. Children with a variety of healthcare needs were served via teledentistry and in-clinic visits.

Conclusions: Parents whose children were evaluated through teledentistry or an in-clinic visit were both satisfied with the visit and felt that the purpose of the visit was accomplished. Parents were comfortable using video conferencing software and were generally not concerned about the lack of taking x-rays or the lack of an in-person evaluation as part of their child’s teledentistry visit. Parents of the teledentistry cohort perceived the visit to be significantly more convenient than parents of the in-person cohort, with significantly less parents having to take time off work for a teledentistry visit. Parents that experienced teledentistry would not have preferred for their child to be seen in-clinic. However, most parents whose child was seen face-to-face would not have preferred a teledentistry visit instead.

Teledentistry extended care to children of varying healthcare needs, as seen with in-clinic dental visits. Teledentistry is a satisfactory means of providing routine dental care. Its utility may be of great value in areas with a paucity of specialists or complement the existing in-person clinical visits when faced with limitations.