Other
Andrew Martinez, DDS
Pediatric Dental Resident
Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, Miami, FL
Miami Children's Hospital
Miami, Florida, United States
Lesbia Drukteinis, DDS
Pediatric Dental Attending
Nicklaus Children's Hospital
Doral, Florida, United States
Shweta Ghimire, MS, DVM
CareQuest Institute For Oral Health
Eric Tranby, PhD, MA
CareQuest Institute for Oral Health
Lesbia Drukteinis, DDS
Pediatric Dental Attending
Nicklaus Children's Hospital
Doral, Florida, United States
Oscar Arevalo, DDS, ScD, MBA, MS
Director of Department of Dentistry and Pediatric Dentistry Residency Program
Nicklaus Children's Hospital
Doral, Florida, United States
Purpose: To investigate and analyze the trends and practices in utilization of pediatric patient teledentistry visits during 2019 and 2020.
Methods: Data of a dental providers participating in DentaQuest were obtained from CareQuest Institute for Oral Health. Patient visits in which teledentistry Current Dental Terminology (CDT) codes D9995 and D9996 were captured and stratified into the following demographic factors: age groups, gender, and patient region. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted using Strata 16.0 using a P-value of >.05 for statistical significance.
Results: The number of pediatric patient visits involving teledentistry was 17 in 2019 and 1,123 in 2020. Usage rates remained higher in all months of 2020 compared to the same month in 2019. Pediatric patients accounted for 32% of teledentistry codes used in 2020, which represented an increase of 6505% compared to 2019. School-age children (7-12 years old) accounted for 45% of pediatric teledentisry visits. Females had a higher percentage of teledentistry visits (54.2%). The odds of teledentistry visits were 3.37 times higher among infants and 2.57 times higher among toddlers compared to adults. The northeast region of the United States experienced the most teledentistry visits with 1,087 cases reported.
Conclusion: This study shows an increase in the use of teledentistry CDT codes (D9995/D9996) in 2020 compared to 2019. Although teledentistry serves as a viable tool in providing access to care, virtual services continue to be underutilized among pediatric groups and geographic regions.