Kopycka-Kedzierawski Dorota T, Billings Ronald J
Eastman Department of Dentistry, University of Rochester, NY 14620, USA.
J Telemed Telecare. 2006;12(4):176-81. doi: 10.1258/135763306777488744.
In Rochester, NY, telehealth centres were established in six inner-city elementary schools and seven child-care centres. The teledentistry project complemented the existing telehealth model. Using an intraoral camera, telehealth assistants record digital images of children's teeth (768 x 494 pixels) and send the images to a computer at the expert dental site (the Eastman Department of Dentistry at the University of Rochester). The paediatric dentist at the expert site reviews the images, and provides referral and treatment recommendations. Subsequently, the telehealth assistant contacts the child's parents or guardians and assists them to obtain appropriate dental care for their child. In the pilot study, we screened 50 children. In the first nine months of 2005, we screened 123 children. The results of our initial teledental screenings of children aged 12-48 months attending inner-city child-care centres revealed that almost 40% had active dental caries, mainly early childhood caries (ECC). For the first time, many children attending inner-city child-care centres have had their teeth examined at an early age and been given prompt feedback on the need for dental care.
在纽约州罗切斯特市，远程医疗中心在六所市中心的小学和七所儿童保育中心设立。远程牙科项目完善了现有的远程医疗模式。远程医疗助理使用口腔内摄像头记录儿童牙齿的数字图像（768×494像素），并将图像发送到专家牙科站点（罗切斯特大学伊士曼牙科学院）的计算机上。专家站点的儿科牙医查看图像，并提供转诊和治疗建议。随后，远程医疗助理联系孩子的父母或监护人，并协助他们为孩子获得适当的牙科护理。在试点研究中，我们筛查了50名儿童。在2005年的前九个月，我们筛查了123名儿童。我们对市中心儿童保育中心12至48个月大儿童进行的首次远程牙科筛查结果显示，近40%的儿童患有活动性龋齿，主要是幼儿龋齿（ECC）。市中心儿童保育中心的许多儿童首次在幼年时就接受了牙齿检查，并得到了关于牙科护理需求的及时反馈。
