Sacramento, Calif. — The July issue of the Journal of the California Dental Association focuses on virtual dental homes and includes a discussion of “health homes” and the use of telehealth technologies.
“The virtual dental home system has significant potential to improve the oral health of currently underserved populations who now experience profound health disparities,” said Paul Glassman, DDS, MA, MBA, guest editor of the July Journal. “It also has the potential to expand the patient population of dentists who are now able to interact with a geographically expanded group of patients and direct the activities of the dental team.”
Articles in the issue include “Community-Based Prevention and Early Intervention Strategies,” which focuses on the evidence for new strategies and their potential application into community-based oral health care settings, and “The Virtual Dental Home: Bringing Oral Health to Vulnerable and Underserved Populations,” which discusses development and advent of “health homes” and the use of telehealth technologies to connect geographically distant providers.
The article “Using Telehealth Technologies to Improve Oral Health for Vulnerable and Underserved Populations” presents emerging evidence that telehealth technologies can enhance the ability of the oral health delivery system to reach vulnerable and underserved populations that are not adequately served by the traditional office and clinic-based oral health delivery system.
The approach of a virtual dental home that moves the oral health delivery system toward the goals of the “Triple Aim” for vulnerable and underserved populations is illustrated in the article “The Virtual Dental Home: Implications for Policy and Strategy.”
“In-Person Versus ‘Virtual’ Dental Examination: Congruence Between Decision-Making Modalities” explores virtual examinations that can offer potential time savings to both dentists and patients, and their validity can open the way for the application of telehealth technology to increase access to oral health care.
About the California Dental Association
The California Dental Association is the nonprofit organization representing organized dentistry in California. Founded in 1870, CDA is committed to the success of our members in service to their patients and the public. CDA also contributes to the oral health of Californians through various comprehensive programs and advocacy. CDA’s membership consists of more than 25,000 dentists, making it the largest constituent of the American Dental Association. For more information, visit cda.org.
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