title: Comparison of a Smartphone-Based Photographic Method with Face-to-Face Caries Assessment: A Mobile Teledentistry Model.
abstract: This study sought to evaluate the efficacy of a mobile teledentistry approach using a smartphone camera for remote screening of dental caries.
  
  
  
  An image acquisition Android App was created to facilitate the acquisition and transmission of dental images to a store-and-forward based telemedicine server. One hundred participants who were attending routine checkups at dental clinics were enrolled in 2014. Following a face-to-face oral screening by a screener (dentist), images of patients' teeth were obtained using a smartphone camera. These images, along with patient information, were then transmitted from the Android App to the server through the Internet for later independent assessment by two charters (off-site dentists). The assessments of these charters were then compared to the benchmark face-to-face caries assessment.
  
  
  
  Sensitivity values for the photographic method when compared to the benchmark face-to-face caries assessment were moderate, and ranged from 60% to 63%. Weighted kappa (K) as a measure of intragrader agreement for the photographic assessment was estimated as almost perfect (K = 0.84). The intergrader agreement for the photographic method compared to the face-to-face caries assessment ranged from moderate to substantial (K = 0.54-0.66).
  
  
  
  Despite some limitations, the mobile teledentistry approach has shown the potential to detect occlusal caries from photographs taken by a smartphone camera with an acceptable diagnostic performance compared to traditional face-to-face screening. This study suggests that telemedicine and cellular phone technology can be combined to create an inexpensive and reliable screening tool.
authors.affiliation: 1 International Research Collaborative-Oral Health and Equity: School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology, University of Western Australia , Perth, Australia .
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Estai
authors.affiliation: 2 Australian e-Health Research Centre, CSIRO , Perth, Australia .
authors.forename: Yogesan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kanagasingam
authors.affiliation: 3 School of Dentistry and Health Sciences, Charles Sturt University , Orange, Australia .
authors.forename: Boyen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: 1 International Research Collaborative-Oral Health and Equity: School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology, University of Western Australia , Perth, Australia .
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shiikha
authors.affiliation: 1 International Research Collaborative-Oral Health and Equity: School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology, University of Western Australia , Perth, Australia .
authors.forename: Estie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kruger
authors.affiliation: 1 International Research Collaborative-Oral Health and Equity: School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology, University of Western Australia , Perth, Australia .
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bunt
authors.affiliation: 1 International Research Collaborative-Oral Health and Equity: School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology, University of Western Australia , Perth, Australia .
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tennant
mesh_terms: D003729:Dental Care / Q000379:methods*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D023861:Photography, Dental; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000379:methods*; D000068997:Smartphone; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods*
keywords: caries; dental photography; dental screening; smartphone; teledentistry