Teledentistry-A Futuristic Approach Towards Dental Health Care Delivery: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: With the advent of telecommunication services, dental consultation has advanced from the mere use of telephones to the use of digital imaging and the internet to provide consultation, exchange health information, and maintain electronic health records beyond borders for increased efficiency of dental healthcare delivery to patients. AIM: To assess dental professional's perception, attitude, and practice of teledentistry in rural areas of Belagavi district, Karnataka, India. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional survey comprising of 450 participants was conducted among dental professionals, which included dental interns, postgraduate students, faculty members of dental colleges, consultants, and private practitioner who works at rural areas of Belagavi district. A 16-item validated questionnaire containing four domains of professional demographic data, perception, attitude, and practices was distributed among the participants. Descriptive analysis was done using IBM SPSS software (Version 20.0, Chicago, Illinois, United States). The level of significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: It was found that 52% of dental professionals had low levels of perception. However, levels of attitude and practice were found to be high. When correlation between perception, attitude, and practice was carried out using Pearson's correlation coefficient, a positive correlation was seen between attitude and practice (p = 0.0001∗). CONCLUSION: The majority of dental professionals exhibited low perception levels but demonstrated high levels of attitude and practice. The effective implementation of teledentistry could usher in a new era of dental healthcare delivery, improving oral health among rural populations.