Teledentistry is the new way to jumpstart dental practice after a public health emergency compromised high-contact industries, such as dentistry. 

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the closure or limited operations of healthcare offices across the world, including dental clinics. And even when the American Dental Association (ADA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued guidelines for the reopening of clinics, and restrictions eased, patients still remained reluctant to see doctors or dentists in person.

HOWEVER, an ADA survey indicated a change in the trend, showing that about 86% of respondents were already ready to visit the dentist’s office. And with dental practices offering teledentistry, more patients are expected to schedule oral and dental care. 

Teledentistry uses telecommunications technology as a means to provide dental services, such as consultations, treatment management, and planning. Furthermore, teledentistry improves the access and delivery of oral healthcare to more patients at a lower cost. 

This article explores the ways your dental practice can use teledentistry to improve patient outcomes and increase your bottom line. 

Teledentistry for Concierge Dentists

Concierge dentists offer personalized dental services patients pay monthly or annually as a retainer fee, similar to direct primary care (DPC) practices. Concierge dental services offer patients the following benefits:

  • same-day appointments
  • longer exam times
  • home delivery of medications,
  • 24/7 access to dentists

Concierge dentists perform similar functions as regular in-office dentists. But, unlike regular dental clinics, concierge dental services can be accessed by patients regardless of their location or even when they are at home. 

With the concierge practice becoming more affordable it is gaining popularity and reputation as a viable option for patients seeking dental and oral care services, shorter wait times, and more personalized care. 

Concierge dentists provide patients unlimited access to primary dental services, enabling dentists to work around their schedule to cater to their busy and mobile patients 24/7. And since concierge dentists don’t see as many patients, they spend more time with each person at every appointment.

Teledentistry Chat Features for Improved Patient Communication and Engagement

Today, teledentistry allows busy dental practices to engage with their patients with convenient chat features. 

With chat features, dental practices can take pressure off the busy administrative staff and accomplish the following through teledentistry: 

  • Give more autonomy to patients when setting up appointments
  • Provide patients medication assistance
  • Enable patients to check symptoms
  • Offer patients early diagnosis based on symptoms
  • Guide patients through maintaining oral care daily

Chat features expand teledentistry, allowing dental teams to provide immediate answers or guidance to patients with questions from home. 

Artificial Intelligence Streamlines Tasks

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is changing many industries, including becoming more common in the dental field. Integrating AI tech in teledentistry enables dental clinics to automate recurring tasks daily and unburden dentists and office staff to attend to more patients. These tasks include:

  • Patient communications through AI-encoded words and emotions and non-verbal aspects of communications
  • Dental problem prediction and treatment recommendation through artificial neural networks (ANNs) and convolutional neural networks (CNNs)

Using teledentistry with AI technology helps dentists increase efficiency and give patients a positive healthcare experience. 

However, dental practices must also take steps to anticipate and safeguard medical information electronically processed, stored, and shared from possible attacks from cybercriminals. To successfully use teledentistry, privacy and the protection of electronic patient information need to be at the forefront. 

Protecting Patient Data with HIPAA-Compliant Teledentistry

Teledentistry can give both providers and patients peace of mind by knowing that private health information is protected. Sensitive data includes: 

  • Address and contact data
  • Biometric information
  • Laboratory results
  • Billing details
  • Insurance info
  • Social security numbers

We all know that HIPAA compliance is necessary when developing new technologies. Dental clinics must use teledentistry platforms that establish the necessary administrative, physical, and technical safety protocols. Platforms, such as Curogram, offer end-to-end encryption to keep the integrity, privacy, and accessibility of ePHI. 

Curogram: the Future of Teledentistry 

If you are looking for a single platform that supports teledentistry and concierge-level services and HIPAA-compliant communications, look no further than Curogram.

Curogram is a leading patient-centric telemedicine platform packed with state-of-the-art features that will satisfy the modern patients’ demands for remote dental and oral care. Curogram offers 2-way text messaging technology and chat features, providing teledentistry services for streamlined appointment booking, concierge-level services, and communications. 

Choosing teledentistry with Curogram allows dental clinics to provide continued oral and dental care to patients at any time and from any location because Curogram integrates with any known electronic health records (EHRs) while maintaining 100% HIPAA compliance. 

Thus, Curogram helps clinics that offer teledentistry to reduce the cost of operations and offer affordable dental services to patients by streamlining its services and lowering expenses. Using teledentistry through Curogram saves patients from paying other fees clinics may charge them when visiting dentists in person to offset overhead expenses. Patients accessing dental services through Curogram also save time and money from traveling to dental clinics. 

The future of teledentistry lies in its ability to adapt to new and advanced dental and information technology trends. With the help of Curogram, teledentistry enhances your practice’s patient-centered services, allowing patients to access oral and dental care conveniently, safely, and efficiently.

Next, can read: Benefits of Virtual Hospital for Healthcare Organizations and Patients

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