ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT Although prior to the pandemic there was some resistance to the virtualization of dental education, the COVID-19 pandemic is providing us a unique opportunity to overcome several barriers that previously blocked the adoption of remote teaching and teledentistry. Thanks to the extended availability of telecommunications, digital technologies, and platforms, remote education and teledentistry appear to be the preferred choice to maintain dental education and patient care active under this pandemic, without contamination risks. In this paper, we review valid remote education strategies and possible alternatives useful in virtual transformation in dental education. Furthermore, the role of teledentistry and its advantages and challenges are also revised. Under the current pandemic context, as dental educators, we are called to be creative and flexible. Every dental school should adapt and use remote education as much as possible until clinical attention can be readopted. The evidence presented in this review supports our position that under this pandemic, remote education and telemedicine/teledentistry may be "the virtual convenient solution", to adapt and improve the hitherto classic way of teaching dentistry through tele-education.
RESUMO Embora antes da pandemia houvesse alguma resistência à virtualização da educação odontológica, a pandemia COVID-19 está nos fornecendo uma oportunidade única de superar várias barreiras que anteriormente bloqueavam a adoção do ensino à distância e teledontologia. Graças à ampla disponibilidade de telecomunicações, tecnologias digitais e plataformas, a educação à distância e a teledontologia parecem ser a escolha preferida para manter a educação odontológica e o atendimento ativo aos pacientes durante a pandemia, sem riscos de contaminação. Neste artigo, revisamos estratégias válidas de educação a distância e possíveis alternativas úteis na transformação virtual na educação odontológica. Além disso, o papel do teleodontologia e suas vantagens, assim como também os desafios. No atual contexto pandêmico, como educadores odontológicos, somos chamados a ser criativos e flexíveis. Cada escola de odontologia deve se adaptar e usar a educação à distância, tanto quanto possível, até que a atenção clínica possa ser readotada. As evidências apresentadas nesta revisão corroboram nossa posição de que, sob esta pandemia, a educação a distância e a telemedicina / teleodontologia podem ser "a solução virtual conveniente", para adaptar e aprimorar a forma até então clássica de ensino de odontologia, agora por meio da teleducação.
ABSTRACT
En los últimos años la estética se ha convertido en motivo de consulta odontológica frecuente. Los pacientes creen que la estética de la sonrisa depende de los dientes; sin embargo, al realizar la evaluación clínica, el profesional puede detectar inconformidad estética del paciente condicionada por factores del medio bucal como los tejidos blandos del periodonto de protección, específicamente la encía aumentada o la inserción muy baja de la mucosa de los frenillos labiales, lo que puede ocasionar que los pacientes manifiesten ver sus dientes de tamaño reducido; además al sonreír pueden exponer gran cantidad de encía. A continuación se expone el caso de una paciente mujer que acude a consulta por inconformidad estética en la sonrisa y tamaño dental; tras la valoración intraoral se diagnostica gingivitis localizada asociada a placa bacteriana y presencia de frenillo papilar alargado, provocando apariencia de dientes cortos o pequeños. Se decide realizar procedimiento quirúrgico mínimamente invasivo para reposicionar los tejidos blandos y mejorar la armonía, respetando espacios biológicos, utilizando terapia con láser de alta intensidad considerando las ventajas de su uso como tiempo de intervención menor, no requerir anestesia local, menor sangrado, tiempo de cicatrización más corto y haciendo innecesario el uso de suturas al compararle con la cirugía convencional con bisturí. Al finalizar el procedimiento la paciente manifiesta satisfacción y ausencia de dolor. Tras control posquirúrgico a los 15 días se aprecia ausencia de edema en el tejido gingival, reposicionamiento de la inserción del frenillo labial superior y borde libre de encía marginal en los órganos dentarios anterosuperiores reposicionados en sentido apical.
In recent years, aesthetics has become a common reason for a dental visit. Patients believe that the aesthetics of the smile depends on the teeth. However, when the clinical evaluation is carried out, the professional can also detect aesthetic dissatisfaction of a patient, conditioned by factors of the oral environment, such as periodontium soft tissue, in particular the increased gingiva or low insertion of the mucosa of the labial frenulum. These may cause patients to believe that their teeth are reduced in size, due to much more gum being exposed when they smile. The clinical case is presented of a female patient who made a dental appointment because of aesthetic dissatisfaction with her smile and dental size. After the intraoral assessment was carried out, a diagnosis was made of a localized gingivitis associated with plaque and presence of an elongated papillary frenum, giving the appearance of short or small teeth. It was decided to perform a minimally invasive surgical procedure to generate the reposition of soft tissues and improve harmony, respecting biological spaces. High-power laser therapy was performed, due to the advantages of its use, such as reduced intervention time, no requirement of local anesthesia, less bleeding, shorter healing time, and unnecessary use of sutures, compared with conventional surgery carried out with scalpel. Immediately after the procedure, the patient felt satisfaction and no pain. On day 15 post-surgery it was observed that there was no swelling of gingival tissue, reposition of the insertion of the upper frenum, and free edge of marginal gingiva in anterior-superior teeth in an apical direction.