Knowledge, attitude & awareness among dental students about teledentistry in kolkata, west bengal, india – a cross sectional study

Abstract

The aim of the study was to to assess the knowledge, attitude and awareness regarding teledentistry among dental students of Kolkata, West Bengal, India. A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among 200 dental students of a dental college & hospital in Kolkata. A self-administered structured questionnaire was circulated among the dental students and the completed questionnaires were statistically analyzed using descriptive statistics including percentages and Chi-square test. Results showed that majority of the respondents were of 18-25 years age[n=140(78.3%)] and gender distribution of sample was 81 males and 119 females. It was observed that knowledge, attitude and awareness were low among postgraduates when compared to first BDS, fourth BDS and interns. Most of the dental students agreed that teledentistry is a time saving approach(69%) but 38.5% said that it is not cost-effective. 42.5% of the participants responded neutrally for the statement that dental procedures can be done more accurately with the help of computers and intraoral camera and 45.5% agreed that teledentistry can help in dental tourism. It can be concluded from the study results that a fair knowledge, attitude and awareness exists regarding teledentistry, its benefits, applicability, and drawbacks among the dental students of Kolkata. In future, this budding technology could be incorporated in dentistry effectively by increasing campaigns/programs promoting teledentistry.

Prospectives of Teledentistry for Professional Stakeholders of Health Professional Dental Education in Pakistan; A Cross-Sectional Survey

“…In contrast to these results, people aged 41-60 mostly belonging to the postgraduate trainees and specialists' group had the least awareness, approximately 18.5%. These results are in 1,9,12,16,20,22,26,27,28,29 accordance with a few other studies, whereas, lesser values were recorded comparatively 4 by Ata and Ozkan. These findings can be associated with the increased use of technology by the younger generation and advanced exposure to innovative technology.…”

“…The current review reflected how most of the dental experts concurred that Teledentistry is both costeffective, as agreed by 63.3% of the professionals and a convenient form of oral health care delivery (65.7%). Comparable discoveries were accounted for 4,8,9,20,24,26,30,31,32 in other studies.…”

“…For the assessment of the knowledge of dental students and professionals about teledentistry, the total knowledge score (range=8-40) was broken down into three categories as poor (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19), satisfactory (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30), and good (31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40). It is quite encouraging that only 4 (0.9%) participants had poor while 99% had satisfactory or good knowledge about tele dentistry (Figure 1).…”

“…W e b d e s t i n a t i o n s c o n t a i n i n g c l i n i c a l , histopathological, and radiographic information establish a climate for understudies to learn at their 18 own speed. Teledentistry bridles the constant capacity of modem media communications to permit offsite dental specialists of any speciality to 19,20,21,22 help their associates give consideration. Dentistry with innovation can revolutionize the clinical and essential medical services in our 23,24,25 country.…”

Knowledge and Awareness About the Emerging Trends in Oral Radiology Among Dental Students

“…In a study by Nandini Sen et al, 69% agreed that teledentistry is a time-saving approach. 8 In a study by Devina Pradhan, 74.4% of students had knowledge regarding teledentistry, and 79.2% of students contemplated practicing teledentistry in the future. 9 This suggests that dental students recognize the potential of teledentistry in improving access to care and patient convenience.…”