Utility of Teleorthodontics in Orthodontic Emergencies during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background. Coronavirus disease has subjected the whole of humanity to two years of social isolation and a series of restrictions. These circumstances have led to the use of information technology in an increasingly widespread manner. Even in the dental field, telematic means have been used to respond to emergencies. The aim of this systematic review of the literature is to evaluate the types of orthodontic emergency that occurred most often and how they were managed by teleorthodontics during the COVID-19 pandemic. The secondary aim is that clinicians will use teleorthodontics not only during pandemics but as an additional tool to manage orthodontics. Materials and Methods. Out of 1695 articles available on PubMed, Science Direct, Cochrane and SciELO, eight articles were selected for this systematic literature review. Google Scholar was used as a secondary source to confirm that there were no additional articles. The screened papers comprised editorials, clinical studies, cross-sectional studies and retrospective studies in Italian, English or Spanish language. Results. The articles showed that the means by which patients most often communicated with their orthodontists were voice calls and smartphone applications such as WhatsApp® Messenger. Through these media, patients communicated their orthodontic emergencies. These mainly involved fixed multibracket appliances and the most common issues were discomfort and pain, fracture or loss of the appliance, protruding distal ends of archwires, brackets, tubes and bands or retainer detachment. Through teleorthodontics, patients could solve these issues by using orthodontic relief wax, cutting the protruding distal ends of the archwire with a nail clipper or a stronger cutter and removing or replacing detached bands, brackets, tubes or metallic ligature with a clean tweezer. Conclusions. In situations where personal contact is limited, teleorthodontics represents a valuable aid for professionals and patients facing orthodontic emergencies. The hope is that it may continue to represent a valuable aid for patients with difficulties in planning an in-office visit.

Effect of COVID-19 on orthodontic treatment/practice- A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The ability to triage remotely to determine whether a patient needs an office visit or if there is a chance to resolve the issue through the media,[ 17 18 ] the ability to cut down on the amount of time the patient spends in the chair,[ 26 ] and the ability to send and evaluate images and radiographs quickly[ 10 19 ] are a few of these benefits. The ability to reassure patients who experience anxiety, fear, or a sense of abandonment during therapy,[ 19 26 27 ] as well as the potential for periodically checking on patients’ oral health status and encouraging them to practice good oral hygiene,[ 26 27 ] are additional positive aspects that should be highlighted.…”

“…Even though it doesn’t appear to be appropriate in every circumstance or for extended periods of time, Saccomanno et al . [ 27 ] in their study from 2020 believe that using teledentistry is a good answer. Clinicians demonstrated that the use of teleorthodontics could merely manage functional appliances and aligners, requiring just follow-up to continue therapy.…”

A Systematic Umbrella Review of the Effects of Teledentistry on Costs and Oral-Health Outcomes

“…Based on the screening of titles and abstracts, 171 full-text articles were obtained and evaluated for the preset eligibility criteria. During the full-text screening process, we excluded reviews in which we were unable to judge whether the review met the eligibility criteria due to lacking key information, i.e., important details on the design, intervention or if the outcome measures of the included studies were not clear or missing [9,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. One review's conclusion about the costs was in contrast with the conclusion stated in the original article and was therefore excluded during the data-selection process [30].…”

Where Is the Artificial Intelligence Applied in Dentistry? Systematic Review and Literature Analysis

“…Various companies have spent the last decade gathering big data regarding teeth movement resulting from aligner treatments, which have provided them with an essential foundation for advanced AI implementations supporting effective teeth movement. However, other major aspects of orthodontics—patient communication, coaching, and no less important, clinician control over treatment progress, have become a new domain for AI implementations [ 49 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 ]. Many of these implementations were introduced as telehealth solutions, benefiting from the interpersonal contact restrictions of the COVID19 pandemic.…”