EIOH Begins New Teledentistry Division Since 2003, EIOH experts were one of the first to engage in teledentistry, and have since published significant studies in this area. Given the increased use of teledentistry throughout the pandemic and inevitably beyond, establishing an EIOH Teledentistry Division was a natural next step. Over the last year, EIOH specialists performed 1,500 teledentistry visits, and that number is expected to increase throughout the coming months. In addition, the number of pediatric teledentistry services in the Finger Lakes region continues to increase, and new initiatives have begun, including oral and maxillofacial telehealth services, serving nursing home residents, patients with special needs, patients who live out of state, and others when it is not safe or possible to receive care in person. Dr. Sharon Elad, EIOH chair of Oral Medicine, has used teledentistry to connect with patients suffering from rare and complex conditions affecting the mouth. The use of an intraoral camera has been instrumental in facilitating long-distance, virtual clinical exams for patients she is treating for Burning Mouth Syndrome and geographic tongue, among other conditions. Teledentistry allowed Dr. Adela Planerova, director of Dental Care at UR Medicine’s Complex Care Center, to help Justin, a man with autism who has difficulty sitting still when touched. His mother, Donella, heard about Eastman’s expertise in treating patients with special needs and shortly afterward she was pointing her laptop’s camera into Justin’s mouth at Dr. Planerova’s direction. This spared the patient a stressful trip for emergency services and allowed him to receive treatment from the comfort of his own home Justin was prescribed antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs and weeks later Justin had surgery. During the pandemic, Maureen had surgery to remove a serious infection in her jaw 32
eioh
| university of rochester medical center
and teeth and was uncomfortable coming to the hospital for follow ups with her surgeon, Dr. Pooja Gangwani, assistant professor at EIOH’s Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Division. "My appointments through teledentistry were more than just a consult," Maureen said. "Dr. Gangwani is definitely one of those doctors who takes a sincere interest. She's truly listening to what I'm saying." And even though the hospital is back open for all appointments, Maureen really appreciates the tele-health technology. "I wish I could do a lot more appointments through telehealth," Maureen added. "Not only does it minimize exposure risk, but you don't have to take as much time off work, and it saves drive time and parking. It's such a great convenience." Other EIOH providers have relied on teledentistry to triage dental emergencies, provide follow-up visits, and to coordinate treatment planning, so as to minimize the risk of exposing patients to the airborne illness. The new division, chaired by Dr. Sean McLaren, and managed by Chris Guerinot, MHA, senior administrator for Strategic Initiatives, recently won an award for its innovative program, and seeks to help more patients by expanding the services across even more disciplines and more regions. ♦
