Dental care is steering towards the digital realm more and more every day, which has offered plenty of new opportunities for effective care. With the rise of digital workflows, and the immediate accessibility of information and communication through online and cloud-based solutions, it’s possible that we’re heading towards a world where dentistry can operate beyond the dental practice.
The potential impacts on modern dentistry can be assessed at three distinct points: the care of a patient during treatment, the assessment of a patient’s oral health prior to care, and the management of an entire dental practice.
Hands-off
Remote dental care, or teledentistry, may only work with select treatments, and conversations have already been had about the opportunities in orthodontics. Sometimes called direct-to-consumer orthodontics, providers have offered dental aligners that patients use and manage themselves, aiming for the outcomes of traditional orthodontic treatment.[i] Patients may feel they are able to receive treatment from clinicians that they could otherwise not access, due to location constraints.
Through this treatment approach, a patient receives aligners through the post, cutting out in-person dental supervision and monitoring at some steps.[ii] It is for this reason that concerns have been raised about the feasibility of teledentistry, and the safety of patients. The General Dental Council (GDC) notes that any innovation in dental care cannot compromise patient safety measures. In a statement regarding direct-to-consumer orthodontics, the GDC instructed clinicians to refer to the guidance already established in the Standards for the Dental Team, which applies to all interactions between patient and clinician – even if completed remotely.[iii]
The GDC points out that for many aspects of the patient treatment process, a face-to-face interaction or physical clinical assessment is needed to ensure safety.iii With this in mind, the patient experience can never be completely remote – and nor should it be, as there is still no substitute for a physical clinical assessment for the basis of the treatment plan.iii
If a clinician proceeds with remote care, it’s important to understand their existing responsibilities. If they are the prescribing dentist carrying out a course of treatment based off of a clinical examination from another dental professional, they take whole responsibility for care.iii They must still keep a full patient record, and stick to traditional practises and guidance where appropriate.iii
Picture perfect
In practise, remote dental care is evidently difficult. However, one step that may be better translated to decentralised care is the use of remote diagnostics.
Digital imaging systems now utilise 2D and 3D radiography in ways that mean the transfer of patient information is incredibly quick and simple. The use of dedicated scanning centres can therefore thrive. Where some practices do not have immediate access to advanced solutions, they may be able to refer a patient to a scanning centre, or another practice with the appropriate equipment, before treating them back in the practice once they have received the imaging results. This community of interconnected dental professionals can work together to support larger patient bases, and be confined less by in-practice equipment.
Access to different solutions ensures patients can get the types of scans that are suited to their care. A cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scanner and a conventional computed tomography (CT) scanner offer different advantages. If a clinician requires greater detail in the soft tissue, a CT scan would be effective, but if this can be forgone for a lower radiation dose at a higher a CBCT scan may be more ideal[iv] – dental professionals could refer appropriately.
Managing from anywhere
Remote workflows can be immediately implemented through the management of the dental practice. Cloud-based solutions have changed the opportunities that practice managers, clinicians and front-desk teams have by making patient information, scheduling, and business insights immediately accessible from anywhere.
By choosing to embrace digital, cloud-based workflows for practice management, clinicians have a greater ability to operate across multiple practice sites from anywhere with an internet connection. Digital patient records also help the referral process, as notes can be found quickly without sifting through paper copies in the practice.
Sensei Cloud from Sensei, the practice and patient management brand of Carestream Dental, helps clinicians step into a world of interconnected dental care. Dental professionals can use the cloud-based system to manage 24/7 online bookings and patient communications with ease, as well as real-time dashboards for business data. All information is GDPR compliant and secured with state-of-the-art cybersecurity tools, to ensure patients are protected.
With practice management and patient diagnostics given more flexibility, a decentralised view of dentistry is possible. It helps create larger clinical communities which can support wider patient bases. Teledentistry is still evolving, but until a completely safe approach is found, the blend of in-person and more remote care is optimal for all clinicians.
To learn more about how Sensei Cloud can help your practice thrive, visit gosensei.co.uk.
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Author: Claire McCarthy – Senior Director of Program & Process Excellence
[i] Care Quality Commission, (2023). Dental mythbuster 39: Direct-to-consumer orthodontics
[ii] Wexler, A., Nagappan, A., Beswerchij, A., & Choi, R. (2020). Direct-to-consumer orthodontics: surveying the user experience. The Journal of the American Dental Association, 151(8), 625-636.
[iii] General Dental Council, (2021). GDC Statement on ‘direct-to-consumer’ orthodontic treatment. (Online) Available at: https://www.gdc-uk.org/standards-guidance/standards-and-guidance/gdc-guidance-for-dental-professionals/direct-to-consumer-orthodontics/gdc-statement-on-direct-to-consumer-orthodontic-treatment [Accessed June 2025]
[iv] Yeung, A., Su, Y., Bornstein, M., (2020). CT scan vs. Cone Beam CT: an overview. (Online) Available at: https://blog.iti.org/clinical-insights/ct-scan-vs-cone-beam-ct/ [Accessed June 2025]
