Dental professionals could soon use an app to remotely screen children’s teeth.
The Australian Dental Association (ADA) in February reported that researchers at The University of Western Australia successfully completed a feasibility study on the app.
It was created in response to restrictions on healthcare delivery during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the university said it had “ongoing potential for use in remote and lower socioeconomic areas”.
UWA researchers Dr Somayyeh Azimi, Dr Jilen Patel and Dr Mohamed Estai led the collaborative study with Telethon Kids Institute and Joondalup Health Campus.
They had 42 families take good-quality photos of their children’s mouths.
They were uploaded to the app and made available to dental professionals via a secure server.
Dr Azimi, from UWA’s School of Human Sciences, said this method “enabled high-accuracy screening of healthy children without tooth decay and those with evidence of cavities”.
The ADA said he spoke about the impact this could have on dental care in rural and remote regions.
“It has the potential to prioritise dental needs, mainly where dental care access is limited, and to reduce waiting times for consultation and travel times to dental clinics,” he said.
“It may also lead to better determining the urgency of the need for treatment and the nature of treatment required, as well as potentially reducing the complications of untreated tooth decay, such as dental infection.”
Dr Azimi said future work would explore incorporating AI technology “to further accelerate examination and referral.”
