title: Using teledentistry to provide interceptive orthodontic services to disadvantaged children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Socially disadvantaged children have limited access to orthodontic services. We examined the feasibility of a general dental practitioner providing interceptive orthodontic services to disadvantaged children with real-time supervision from an orthodontist using teledentistry.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pretreatment and posttreatment orthodontic study models of 30 children treated by a general dentist using teledentistry and 96 children treated by orthodontic residents directly supervised by orthodontic faculty were scored with the peer assessment rating (PAR) index.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both groups had significant improvements in PAR scores: 35.6% in the teledentistry group and 44.1% in the direct supervision group (P <0.001). There were no significant differences between the groups before treatment or after interceptive orthodontic treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study suggest that interceptive orthodontic treatments provided by sufficiently prepared general dentists and supervised remotely by orthodontic specialists through teledentistry are a viable approach to reducing the severity of malocclusions in disadvantaged children when referral to an orthodontist is not feasible.
authors.affiliation: Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic, Toppenish, Washington, USA. BerndtJ@dentistry.unc.edu
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Berndt
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Leone
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: King
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000379:methods*; D005792:General Practice, Dental / Q000379:methods*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D009972:Orthodontics, Interceptive / Q000379:methods*; D011203:Poverty; D019114:Remote Consultation; D017216:Telemedicine