Okumura Takuma, Nakagawa Kazuharu, Yoshimi Kanako, Saito Mitsuko, Ito Kayoko, Itoda Masataka, Takeuchi Kenji, Mizutani Shinsuke, Yoshida Mitsuyoshi, Watanabe Yutaka, Tohara Haruka
Gerodontology, Department of Oral Health Science, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
Department of Dysphagia Rehabilitation, Division of Gerontology and Gerodontology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Digit Health. 2024 Sep 25;10:20552076241282394. doi: 10.1177/20552076241282394. eCollection 2024 Jan-Dec.
Teledentistry could be effective in managing oral health through the provision of oral hygiene instruction and diagnostic services. This study aimed to assess the perception and usefulness of teledentistry in Japanese long-term care facilities.
We conducted a questionnaire survey to compare related factors of the usefulness of teledentistry and identify issues in its implementation. We chose 1000 facilities using a stratified random sampling method. The questionnaires were sent to the facilities in August 2021 and collected in December of the same year. Responses to the questionnaire items regarding the usefulness of teledentistry for oral management were divided into three groups according to the answer: perceiving teledentistry as "useful," "not useful," or "neither," including facilities that do not currently use teledentistry.
In total, 26.1% (261) responded to the questionnaire, and among these, 184 facilities answered the question regarding the usefulness of teledentistry. Only two of these facilities implemented teledentistry. Facilities with dental hygienists ( = 0.040) and those that receive insured medical treatment: reimbursement for oral feeding maintenance II ( = 0.040) tended to perceive teledentistry as useful in the management of patients with coronavirus disease. The higher the number of services that responded to the question "what kind of services do you think can be provided via teledentistry?" the higher the percentage of "useful" responses.
Although only a few facilities use teledentistry, many long-term care facilities perceive it as useful even without using it. The presence of dental hygienists and interprofessional work done with reimbursement for oral feeding maintenance II contributed to the perception of the usefulness of teledentistry in long-term care facilities.
远程牙科通过提供口腔卫生指导和诊断服务，在口腔健康管理方面可能是有效的。本研究旨在评估日本长期护理机构对远程牙科的认知及其有用性。
我们进行了一项问卷调查，以比较远程牙科有用性的相关因素，并确定其实施过程中存在的问题。我们采用分层随机抽样方法选取了1000家机构。问卷于2021年8月发送至这些机构，并于同年12月收回。对于有关远程牙科在口腔管理方面有用性的问卷项目，根据回答分为三组：将远程牙科视为“有用”、“无用”或“两者皆非”，其中包括目前未使用远程牙科的机构。
共有26.1%（261家）机构回复了问卷，其中184家机构回答了有关远程牙科有用性的问题。这些机构中只有两家实施了远程牙科。配备牙科保健员的机构（=0.040）以及接受医保治疗：口腔进食维持II类报销的机构（=0.040），在新冠病毒疾病患者管理中倾向于认为远程牙科有用。对“您认为可以通过远程牙科提供哪些服务？”这一问题做出回应的服务项目数量越多，“有用”回答的比例就越高。
尽管只有少数机构使用远程牙科，但许多长期护理机构即使未使用也认为其有用。牙科保健员的存在以及与口腔进食维持II类报销相关的跨专业合作，有助于长期护理机构对远程牙科有用性的认知。
