Minimal Data Set for Remote Clinical Consultations in Restorative Dentistry - An Exploratory Case Study

Area of Science:

• Dental specialty consultations
• Tele-dentistry
• Health informatics

Background:

• General dental practitioners (GDPs) in UK primary care rely on specialist consultants in secondary care for patient care decisions.
• Current consultations are in-person, involving comprehensive clinical assessments.
• Tele-dentistry offers Remote Clinical Consultations (RCCs) as an alternative approach.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify essential data sets for specialist clinical consultations in endodontics, periodontics, and prosthodontics.
• To explore secondary care providers' opinions on in-person versus Remote Clinical Consultations (RCCs).

Main Methods:

• An exploratory case study design was employed.
• An online questionnaire was administered to UK secondary care restorative dentistry clinicians (specialist consultants and senior trainees).

Main Results:

• A generic minimum data set for specific consultation processes is feasible to identify, though specifics vary by specialty and clinician experience.
• Clinician opinions on in-person versus remote consultations differed between consultant and trainee grades.

Conclusions:

• It is possible to define essential data for efficient dental specialist consultations, including tele-dentistry.
• Further research is needed to understand the nuances of clinician perspectives on remote consultations.