Takeda Asuka, Fukuda Hideki
Department of Health Crisis Management, National Institute of Public Health, Saitama, Japan.
National Institute of Public Health, Saitama, Japan.
J Public Health Dent. 2025 Jun;85(2):125-132. doi: 10.1111/jphd.12660. Epub 2025 Jan 23.
The COVID-19 pandemic has fostered the use of teledentistry worldwide. However, teledentistry remains underutilized in Japan due to a lack of clarity regarding its target population. This study aimed to determine the current demands of patients of dental clinics in Saitama, Japan; enable dental care professionals to adopt teledentistry; and examine which patients could be targeted for teledentistry.
This cross-sectional study involved a survey of dental patients who visited one of 28 participating dental clinics in September 2020 in Saitama, Japan. The patients were asked about their demographic information, impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and teledentistry-including future demands (whether they would like to receive teledentistry consultations). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a multiple logistic regression model.
Questionnaires were distributed to 1335 patients, 1312 of whom responded (response rate: 98.3%). The analysis included 835 of the 1227 valid responses to the question about the future demand for teledentistry ("demand" group: 299 patients; "unnecessary" group: 536 patients). The difference in the frequency of dental visits between the "demand" and "unnecessary" groups was significant (p = 0.04). The multiple logistic regression model identified "visited dentists only when necessary" as an independent contributor to the future demand for teledentistry (odds ratio = 1.60, 95% confidence interval = 1.00-2.57).
Teledentistry presents an opportunity for dental care for those who do not habitually visit the dental clinic. Further research should explore the type of dental consultation required by infrequent dental patients and how teledentistry can meet these needs.
新冠疫情促使远程牙科在全球范围内得到应用。然而，由于其目标人群尚不明确，远程牙科在日本的应用仍未得到充分利用。本研究旨在确定日本埼玉县牙科诊所患者的当前需求；促使牙科护理专业人员采用远程牙科；并研究哪些患者可以成为远程牙科的目标人群。
这项横断面研究涉及对2020年9月访问日本埼玉县28家参与研究的牙科诊所之一的牙科患者进行调查。询问患者的人口统计学信息、新冠疫情的影响以及远程牙科相关问题，包括未来需求（是否愿意接受远程牙科咨询）。使用描述性统计和多元逻辑回归模型对数据进行分析。
共向1335名患者发放问卷，其中1312名患者做出回应（回应率：98.3%）。分析纳入了1227份关于远程牙科未来需求问题的有效回复中的835份（“需求”组：299名患者；“无需求组”：536名患者）。“需求”组和“无需求”组之间的看牙频率差异具有统计学意义（p = 0.04）。多元逻辑回归模型确定“仅在必要时看牙医”是未来对远程牙科需求的独立影响因素（比值比 = 1.60，95%置信区间 = 1.00 - 2.57）。
远程牙科为那些不经常去牙科诊所的人提供了牙科护理机会。进一步的研究应探索不常看牙的患者所需的牙科咨询类型，以及远程牙科如何满足这些需求。
