Analysis of Dental Teleconsulting in the Pediatric Dentistry Field of Telehealth Minas Gerais: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: To analyze the profile of the dental teleconsulting in the Pediatric Dentistry field of Telehealth Brazil Networks Program, in Minas Gerais centers, Brazil. Material and Methods: Asynchronous dental teleconsulting was evaluated in the Pediatric Dentistry specialty, extracted from secondary databases of the telehealth centers: the Clinical Hospital of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais and UFMG Medical School, from July 2015 to July 2017. The variables collected were: type of issues and area and sub-area of Pediatric Dentistry. The results were descriptively analyzed using the SPSS v.22,0 program by frequencies. Results: Most of the issues in the Pediatric Dentistry specialty were about clinical conduct (81.4%). There was a predominance of issues regarding prevention (16.6%), surgery (15.3%), tooth eruption (15.1%), endodontics (12.1%), harmful oral habits (9.7%), patient cooperation (8.7%), primary teeth trauma (7.2%) and dentistry (6.7%). Regarding sub-areas, most issues were related to child oral hygiene (68.5%), tooth extraction (92%), tooth eruption chronology (65.6%), pulp diagnosis (49.0%), bruxism (64%), patient management (74.3%), post-trauma treatment (79.3%), and restoration (88.9%). Conclusion: Pediatric Dentistry teleconsulting suggested a difficulty of the professionals in the pediatric patient approach. Continuing education programs and training courses for professionals working in primary health care are crucial for the comprehensive care of pediatric patients

Oral Medicine and Pharmacology Teleconsulting Sessions of the Telehealth Program in one Southeastern State of Brazil

Objective: To evaluate questions concerning oral medicine- and pharmacology-related specialties of asynchronous dental teleconsulting sessions of the Telehealth Brazil Networks Program. Material and Methods: Data were collected from secondary databases of asynchronous dental teleconsulting sessions of the telehealth centers of Minas Gerais from July 2015 to July 2017. The variables for dental underlying fields and the types of questions were evaluated. Descriptive analysis was performed with the SPSS v.22.0 program. Results: 3,920 teleconsulting sessions were referred to the telehealth centers of Minas Gerais during the study period. Regarding oral medicine-related questions (n=745), most (n=469; 62.95%) addressed diagnosis, whereas the underlying field questions mostly regarded fungal, viral, and bacterial infections (17.3%), biopsies (16.4%), developmental defects and dental abnormalities (9.9%), and soft tissue tumors (9.4%). Pharmacology-related questions (n=738) mostly addressed general approaches (n=672; 91.06%), and the most common questions were about underlying fields' prescriptions (44.7%), anesthetics (17.6%), adverse effects of medications and anesthetics (10.2%), and selection of anesthetics for patients with systemic conditions (9.8%). Conclusion: Most teleconsulting sessions regarded conditions or procedures common in primary health care and essential for diagnosis and treatment planning at all care levels, which suggests a need for more academic learning processes for healthcare professionals, especially in dentistry primary fields

Analysis of the asynchronous dental teleconsulting of Telehealth Brazil Networks in Minas Gerais

Abstract: This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the asynchronous dental teleconsulting of Telehealth Brazil Networks Program in Minas Gerais. Data were collected from secondary databases of the Clinical Hospital of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (CH/UFMG) and Medical School of UFMG (MS/UFMG), from July 2015 to July 2017. The variables analyzed were telehealth center, sex and profession, date and time questions and answers, response time in days, whether the issue was duly addressed, whether the teleconsulting was attended, post status, professional's satisfaction, conduct adopted after teleconsulting, dental specialty area, and type of issues. Sociodemographic data from the Intermediate Geographical Regions (IGR) of Minas Gerais, including the Municipal Human Development Index (MHDI) and Gini Index were also collected. The results were analyzed using SPSS v.22.0. In total, 3,920 teleconsulting were recorded, with increasing demand in the study period. Most were requested by dentists (93.3%) and female professionals (78.6%), during office hours (78.6%), and related to general conducts (72.1%). Almost all were attended (99.7%), with a maximum response time of two days (75.0%). A low feedback on satisfaction and resolution of issues (missing data of 57.2% and 70.2%, respectively) was recorded. Only 5.2% had information on whether patients were referred. The most common inquires were of issues about Pathology/Stomatology specialties (19.0%) and Pharmacology/Anesthesiology (18.8%). The response occurred within the expected time, with prevalent issues in basic dental areas and general conducts. Feedback from professionals must be encouraged to allow a better analysis and improvements of the program