{"id":323,"date":"2020-03-27T13:45:10","date_gmt":"2020-03-27T13:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rauchberg.com\/blog\/?p=323"},"modified":"2020-04-27T13:47:35","modified_gmt":"2020-04-27T13:47:35","slug":"dental-emergency-virtual-consults","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rauchberg.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/27\/dental-emergency-virtual-consults\/","title":{"rendered":"Virtual Consults: Dentistry During COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Professionals providing digital healthcare via virtual consults isn\u2019t a new <\/em>phenomenon, per se, but it is something that has become more popular and widespread since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In an effort to limit the number of people visiting practices for dental care, dentists around the country have cut down their treatments to only offering emergency care. This is in an effort to reduce the influx of patients heading to already overwhelmed local ERs and make sure that those patients with dental emergencies are getting the specialized care they need without putting their health at risk. Read on to learn how virtual consultations are helping to flatten the curve and what exactly they are.<\/p>\n

What is Digital Dental Care?<\/h2>\n

Digital dental care, also known as virtual consults and teledentistry, is exactly what it sounds like. Imagine video chatting with a friend online, but it\u2019s your dentist instead. You can send them pictures of any out-of-the-ordinary symptoms you\u2019re experiencing and describe what you\u2019re feeling. Based on their assessment, they can determine whether it\u2019s an issue that can be remedied at home, or whether you\u2019ll require emergency treatment. From there, they\u2019ll either schedule an appointment for you or give you a treatment plan to start from home.<\/p>\n

How is it Helping Patients During the COVID-19 Crisis?<\/h2>\n

Digital dental care is helping patients avoid overwhelmed ERs during the COVID-19 crisis and leaving hospital beds open to patients who may be in dire need of them. If a dental procedure is deemed necessary, they\u2019re able to get treated in a less-trafficked and more controlled environment, because dentists are able to sanitize before and after each patient, allowing them to keep their waiting room and treatment area clean at all times.<\/p>\n

Screening patients via virtual consults in order to treat dental emergencies also allows patients who come from both metropolitan and rural areas to avoid exposure to a variety of surfaces that could carry germs or illness by having to travel. This greatly reduces patients\u2019 risk of becoming sick in order to get the urgent care they need.<\/p>\n

What are the Benefits of Digital Dental Care?<\/h2>\n

Both during COVID-19 and in general, virtual consults provide a variety of unique benefits by creating dental care that\u2019s both accessible and easy to use. Here are some advantages of digital dentistry:<\/p>\n