Patient views on the effectiveness of audio-dentistry for emergency triage during COVID-19

When Qatar imposed a nationwide lockdown in accordance with WHO guidelines during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, dental healthcare services were disrupted, limiting services to emergencies and postponing elective procedures due to transmission risks. Teledentistry was introduced to remotely manage dental conditions and reduce hospital admissions. The present study examines patient perceptions of audio-dentistry, a form of teledentistry, in managing dental emergencies during the pandemic and explores factors influencing overall patient satisfaction.

A retrospective, cross-sectional telephone questionnaire included 352 participants who used a dental emergency hotline service during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown (March 29-August 31, 2020) in Qatar. A validated, closed-ended questionnaire was administered to explore participants' views on audio-dentistry. The questionnaire explored the influence of variables related to dental problems depending on the specialty required, the years of experience of the responding dentist, and teletriage management decisions on overall satisfaction with audio-dentistry.

The response rate was 80.18%. Most participants expressed positive views of audio-dentistry in five domains (usefulness, interaction quality, ease of use and reliability, quality of care, satisfaction, and future use). However, approximately one-third of participants disagreed or strongly disagreed that their dental problem had improved following the call (35.3%) and viewed the lack of physical contact as a disadvantage (31.2%). Overall satisfaction was only influenced by telephone triage outcomes, with patients transferred for chairside management more likely to be satisfied (89.8%) than those managed remotely through self-care instructions and medications (80.4%) or instructions only (75.4%) (p = 0.011).

Audio-dentistry effectively sustained oral health services during the COVID-19 pandemic while minimizing face-to-face visits, with patients largely expressing high satisfaction in areas such as usefulness, interaction quality, ease of use, reliability, and overall care. Satisfaction was primarily influenced by call outcomes and referrals or prescription decisions rather than caller demographics or dentist experience. However, some dissatisfaction arose when immediate improvement was not achieved, particularly in conditions such as pulpitis that are challenging to manage remotely.