Aboalshamat Khalid T
Dental Public Health Division, Department of Preventative Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Head of Medicine and Medical Science Research Center, Deanship of Scientific Research, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
J Int Soc Prev Community Dent. 2020 Aug 6;10(4):431-437. doi: 10.4103/jispcd.JISPCD_183_20. eCollection 2020 Jul-Aug.
Saudi Arabia launched multiple initiatives to overcome the problem of health-care access. The recent coronavirus pandemic created urgent demand to deal with the problem using nonconventional venues such as telehealth and teledentistry. This study aimed to investigate teledentistry knowledge, attitudes, and practices, and barriers to its use among dental students and teaching staff in Makkah province, Saudi Arabia.
A total of 314 dental students participated in this cross-sectional study. Data were collected using a validated self-reported questionnaire to measure teledentistry awareness, attitude, practices, and barriers to teledentistry. The study was approved by Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia.
Only 17.2% were aware of the term "teledentistry." However, after it was explained, participants were able to correctly answer 25.16%-62.42% of items about teledentistry. A total of 67.83% would practice teledentistry, and 70.7% support using teledentistry on a national scale for Vision 2030. Only 25.16% used teledentistry before, but 56.05% did dental consultations via smartphone. The most common barriers were patient satisfaction requiring a dentist's physical presence, violation of patient privacy, and low levels of population education.
Dental students seem to know little about teledentistry. However, they are open to learning and using it. It is encouraged to include the topic in continuing dental education, including how to use it during health disasters such as the coronavirus pandemic.
沙特阿拉伯发起了多项举措以解决医疗服务可及性问题。近期的冠状病毒大流行产生了迫切需求，要利用远程医疗和远程牙科等非传统途径来应对这一问题。本研究旨在调查沙特阿拉伯麦加省牙科学生和教职员工对远程牙科的知识、态度和实践，以及使用远程牙科的障碍。
共有314名牙科学生参与了这项横断面研究。使用经过验证的自填问卷收集数据，以衡量对远程牙科的认知、态度、实践及使用远程牙科的障碍。该研究获得了沙特阿拉伯乌姆古拉大学的批准。
只有17.2%的人知晓“远程牙科”一词。然而，在对其进行解释后，参与者能够正确回答25.16%-62.42%关于远程牙科的问题。共有67.83%的人愿意开展远程牙科实践，70.7%的人支持在全国范围内将远程牙科用于实现2030年愿景。之前只有25.16%的人使用过远程牙科，但56.05%的人通过智能手机进行过牙科咨询。最常见的障碍是患者满意度要求牙医亲自在场、侵犯患者隐私以及民众教育水平低。
牙科学生似乎对远程牙科了解甚少。然而，他们对学习和使用远程牙科持开放态度。鼓励将该主题纳入牙科继续教育，包括在冠状病毒大流行等健康灾难期间如何使用远程牙科。
