Expanding dental care to children through telehealth
Telehealth helps children in rural areas get dental care.
More than 57 million people live in dental health professional shortage areas. This means that there are not enough dental providers to care for the community. Telehealth can be used to provide some types of dental care.
Children’s Dental Services launched the Southwest Minnesota Rural Public Health Workforce Training Network Program. The program provides training to expand the public health workforce. This includes training dental assistants, medical assistants, case managers, and health information technology (IT) and telehealth experts. The newly trained workforce professionals increase access to preventive and restorative dental and medical care for low-income community members.
Staff receive training to become experts in health IT and telehealth. Community health workers also receive cross training in telehealth. These individuals use their new skills to increase the use of teledentistry. To date a total of 69 new health workforce members have been trained in the use of teledentistry.
Staff receive training to become experts in health IT and telehealth.
The teledentistry training program helps patients living in rural communities get dental care. They can get their teeth cleaned in rural clinics and via portable equipment in accessible community settings. Newly trained dental hygienists and assistants provide dental services. Professionals that received training in health IT send dental records, including x-ray images, to a dentist or dental therapist at a central location using telehealth. The dentist or dental therapist then reviews the records to determine if additional dental treatment is needed. This helps the patient get dental care closer to home.
Children’s Dental Services is developing a workforce that uses telehealth to increase access to dental care.
Through the Rural Public Health Workforce Training Network Program, Children’s Dental Services is developing a workforce that uses telehealth to increase access to dental care.