teledentistry C D A J O U R N A L , V O L 5 0 , Nº 7
Benefit Design and Reimbursement Considerations for Teledentistry Nathan Suter, DDS
abstract Teledentistry is a broad term that allows for patient care to be digitized and delivered through multiple modalities. Teledentistry can be facilitated via many innovative technologies, thus allowing patients to engage in dental care regardless of physical and structural constraints of the dentist’s availability, creating equity through the availability of auxiliary dental team members. This manuscript lays out some of the ways that policymakers and payers can facilitate a digital transformation of care and allow teledentistry to enhance the way dental practitioners can develop systems of care for both today and the future of dentistry. Keywords: Teledentistry, dental insurance, dental benefits
AUTHOR Nathan Suter, DDS, is the chief innovation officer at Enable Dental. He is a leading expert in consulting with provider groups, state boards and payers on how teledentistry can expand access to quality dental care. Dr. Suter has served on the board of directors of Enable Dental since 2020 and is the co-founder of Healier, a teledentistryfocused software platform. He was named the 2019 Missouri Dentist of the Year by the Missouri Dental Association and was awarded the American Dental Association’s 2020
Top 10 Under 10 award, which honors dentists who have made an impact in the profession less than 10 years after graduating from dental school. Dr. Suter practices in House Springs, Missouri. Conflict of Interest Disclosure: None reported.
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eledentistry is a broad term that allows for patient care to be digitized and delivered through multiple modalities. Teledentistry can be facilitated via many innovative technologies, thus allowing patients to engage in dental care regardless of physical and structural constraints of the dentist’s availability, creating equity through the availability of auxiliary dental team members. This manuscript explores some of the ways that policymakers and payers can facilitate a digital transformation of care and allow teledentistry to enhance the way dental practitioners can develop systems of care for both today and the future of dentistry. Providers have used teledentistry to deliver care to the most vulnerable
and underserved patients, both rural and urban, for more than a decade. This initial concept was illustrated with success in California by the University of the Pacific, Arthur A Dugoni Dental School’s virtual dental home model.1 The initial success in California was replicated in many states prior to the pandemic in a model utilizing dental hygienists to send data to be reviewed by a dentist for remote diagnosis and treatment planning. In many states, teledentistry was not allowed as a reimbursable service, which limited the utilization among providers to implement this model of care. During the COVID-19 outbreak, many states changed scope-of-practice guidelines to allow the reimbursement and utilization of teledentistry, seeing it as an effective way to assess and triage JULY 2 0 2 2
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