Smartphone app assists to triage dental emergencies

A smartphone app could assist those with triage dental emergencies to avoid unimportant trips to the ER by enabling dentists to make clinical decisions despite not being capable to take a physical examination.

Because sufferers mostly experience dental emergencies when dentist offices are closed, they are compelled to seek relief at a hospital ER where they are generally treated for their pain. Although, the DentaCom app permits and helps people at time of triage dental emergencies to communicate an emergency straightly to a dentist, while potentially removing the requirement to visit an ER.

Established and tested by the Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Dentistry, the smartphone app captures and transmits images from inside a sufferer’s mouth—along with details on the vulnerable dental emergency—offering the data to a dentist in case to determine the best course of treatment.

The app instructs users through a series of queries a dentist would inquire that are made to solicit clinically meaningful data to assess the severity of the situation. In a study, issued in the Journal of the American Dental Association, researchers indicated that all 20 participants using the app were capable to victoriously complete a guided report on their dental emergency and take photos of the problem area of the mouth within 4 minutes.

 “Patient-provided data accompanied by high-resolution images might assist dentists substantially in predicting urgency or preparing important treatment resources,” summarizes the study. “The results explain the feasibility of patients utilizing smartphone applications to report triage dental emergencies. This technology permits dentists to assess care remotely when direct sufferer contact is less practical.”

Regenstrief Institute investigator Thankam Thyvalikakath, who guides dental informatics at the institute of Indiana University School of Dentistry and is senior author of the study, claims that a participating dentist would get a summary report from a patient that consists of answers to the app’s questionnaire as well as images.

“Dental emergencies are among the top ten reasons why individuals visit the ER,” asserts Thyvalikakath. Although, she considers the app could also be precious in non-emergency cases for individuals requiring routine dental care but who lack dental insurance or physical access to a dentist.

At the similar time, Thyvalikakath contends that the DentaCom app is just meant for “preliminary analysis” and should not be observed as a replacement for a face-to-face dental examination in a dentist’s office. She further adds that the prototype app runs on an Android smartphone but the aim is to have it available on iOS mobile devices as well.