רפואת הפה והשיניים - עיתון ההסתדרות לרפואת שיניים בישראל - כרך ל"ח, גיליון מס' 1 שבט תשפ"א - ינואר 2021

TeleDentistry - a remote dental service to patients in need

Moritz K., Ziv- Gordon S., Bernstein Y., Mann J., Findler M. The MaccabiDent Dental Research Unit

Telemedicine which has been in use for many years around the globe was the first step towards Teledentistry. The new era, starting in the mid 80’s, brought with it modern new communication systems which allowed the broadening and development of telecommunication. The COVID-19 pandemia was an accelerator to the continued development of communication, both in Medicine and in dentistry. The Israeli Ministry of health urged to develop the TeleDentistry, and MaccabiDent which is a large provider of dental services decided to pick up the slack and invest in developing this idea. The idea begun as a phone call center concentrating on receiving calls from patients who needed dental emergency solution, and tried to avoid reaching a dental clinic which was a threat because of the CORONA risk. The need for this type of service was obvious and the decision

in the Israeli dental provider was to broaden this service by adding dentists to the phone center in addition to opening the service 24 hours a day for 7 days a week. Results indicated that following the pandemic and the publics’ awareness to this service, today 82% of the emergency cases approach the center and only 18% are WI (Walk In) patients, a fact which allows a great saving in time and money. The actual number of emergency cases decreased by 25%, those who received a solution via the center, and the waiting time for an emergency case decreased from almost 2 hours to 45 minutes with a much higher efficiency rate. In conclusion, no doubt this pilot project convinced both the care givers and the patients that such a service is necessary and serves all involved in the best way, hence; developing the idea is of great benefit for all.

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.1 רפואת הפה והשיניים, שבט תשפ״א, כרך ל״ח, גיליון