IJERPH, Vol. 21, Pages 407: A Systematic Umbrella Review of the Effects of Teledentistry on Costs and Oral-Health Outcomes

IJERPH, Vol. 21, Pages 407: A Systematic Umbrella Review of the Effects of Teledentistry on Costs and Oral-Health Outcomes International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph21040407 Authors: Janneke F. M. Scheerman Alaa H. Qari Benoit Varenne Harmen Bijwaard Laura Swinckels Nicolas Giraudeau Berno van Meijel Rodrigo Mariño Teledentistry offers possibilities for improving efficiency and quality of care and supporting cost-effective healthcare systems. This umbrella review aims to synthesize existing systematic reviews on teledentistry and provide a summary of evidence of its clinical- and cost-effectiveness. A comprehensive search strategy involving various teledentistry-related terms, across seven databases, was conducted. Articles published until 24 April 2023 were considered. Two researchers independently reviewed titles, abstracts and full-text articles. The quality of the included reviews was critically appraised with the AMSTAR-2 checklist. Out of 749 studies identified, 10 were included in this umbrella review. Two reviews focusing on oral-health outcomes revealed that, despite positive findings, there is not yet enough evidence for the long-term clinical effectiveness of teledentistry. Ten reviews reported on economic evaluations or costs, indicating that teledentistry is cost-saving. However, these conclusions were based on assumptions due to insufficient evidence on cost-effectiveness. The main limitation of o...
Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Systematic Review Source Type: research