Percepción de un grupo de odontólogos sobre el uso de la teleodontología en época de la pandemia de COVID-19 / Perception of a group of dentists about the use of teledentistry in the time of pandemic COVID-19

Objetivo: Conocer la percepción de los odontólogos clínicos peruanos sobre el uso de la teleodontología para la atención odontológica durante la pandemia de COVID- 19. Métodos: Estudio cualitativo en el que se utilizó el método fenomenográfico y se realizaron entrevistas a dentistas clínicos en el contexto de la cuarentena por la pandemia de la COVID-19 en Lima, Perú. Las entrevistas se efectuaron a través de la plataforma Zoom, y la guía de preguntas claves incluyó: conocimiento previo sobre teleodontología, medios de comunicación utilizados con los pacientes, experiencia en la atención virtual de los pacientes desde el inicio de la cuarentena, calidad del diagnóstico y tratamiento a través de la teleodontología, remuneración de las teleconsultas, beneficios y limitaciones de la teleodontología. Resultados: Once de los 14 odontólogos consideró que es complicado mantener una comunicación a distancia, sobre todo en los casos que requieren control de tratamientos ya realizados. Los odontólogos entrevistados opinan que gran parte de los pacientes se sienten tranquilos al mantener relación con su odontólogo, aun cuando es a distancia, y manifiestan que la teleodontología crea lazos de confianza con los pacientes por el trato constante. Consideran que el contacto por redes sociales puede ser un medio para que aumente la fluidez en la comunicación, lo que ayudaría en los casos de pacientes no muy extrovertidos, al trato persona-persona. Conclusiones: Para los odontólogos entrevistados, la utilización de redes sociales y videollamadas es fundamental, porque permiten mantener el contacto con sus pacientes, consideran que por medio de consejos y recomendaciones a distancia se pueden aliviar molestias y tranquilizar a los pacientes(AU)

Objective: Become acquainted with the perception of Peruvian clinical dentists about the use of teledentistry for dental care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted based on the phenomenographic method, and interviews were carried out with clinical dentists in the context of the quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Lima, Peru. The interviews were held on the Zoom platform, and the guide of key questions included the following items: previous knowledge about teledentistry, means of communication used with patients, experience in the virtual care of patients since the start of the quarantine, quality of diagnosis and treatment through teledentistry, teleconsultation fees, and benefits and limitations of teledentistry. Results: Eleven of the 14 dentists considered that it is complicated to maintain distance communication, mainly in cases requiring the control of treatments already performed. The dentists interviewed think that a large number of the patients feel reassured when they maintain contact with their dentist, even if from a distance, reporting that teledentistry creates confidence in patients due to the frequent contact. They think that contact on the social networks may facilitate communication, which would be helpful in the case of introverted patients. Conclusions: The dentists interviewed consider that the use of social networks and video calls is fundamental, for it makes it possible to maintain contact with their patients(AU)

Dental consultation requests to oral and maxillofacial surgery in a hospital in Brazil

Introduction: This study analyzed dental consultation requests to the division of oral and maxillofacial surgery in a Brazilian tertiary hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional study with data collected retrospectively from inpatients' electronic medical records containing dental consultation requests made between January 2013 and December 2017. Results: 327 consultation requests were analyzed. Mean (SD) patient age was 38.71 (24.4) years; 164 (50.2%) were male and 267 (81.7%) were Caucasian. Regarding systemic conditions, 34 (10.4%) were classified as ASA I, 86 (26.3%) as ASA II, 182 (55.7%) as ASA III, and 25 (7.6%) as ASA IV. Dental consultations were mostly requested by the internal medicine team (n = 42, 12.8%). The most common reason for consultation was septic teeth (n = 131, 40.1%). Complementary tests were required in 188 (57.5%) cases. Surgical intervention was required in 82 (25.0%), with tooth extraction as the most prevalent procedure (20.2%). The most demanding service was inpatient care, with 276 (84.4%) requests. Cases were resolved in 249 (76.1%). Conclusions: The division of oral and maxillofacial surgery in our hospital deals with a great amount of consultations, contributing with surgical procedures to the adequacy of patients' oral health with a high effectiveness rate. Our data illustrate the contribution of dentists in a hospital setting, assisting the medical team in providing comprehensive care for inpatients. (AU)