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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Eur J Dent 2020; 14(S 01): S20-S26
DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1717159
Original Article

Utilization of Teledentistry in Antimicrobial Prescribing and Diagnosis of Infectious Diseases during COVID-19 Lockdown

Najla Dar-Odeh
1   Department of Oral Basic and Clinical Sciences, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Al Madinah Al Munawwarah, Saudi Arabia
2   Department of Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine and Periodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
,
Hamzah Babkair
1   Department of Oral Basic and Clinical Sciences, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Al Madinah Al Munawwarah, Saudi Arabia
,
Ahmad Alnazzawi
3   Department of Substitutive Dental, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Al Madinah Al Munawwarah, Saudi Arabia
,
Shaden Abu-Hammad
2   Department of Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine and Periodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
,
Abdalla Abu-Hammad
4   School of Medicine, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
,
Osama Abu-Hammad
2   Department of Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine and Periodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
3   Department of Substitutive Dental, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Al Madinah Al Munawwarah, Saudi Arabia
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Abstract

Objectives This study aimed to analyze Jordanian dentists’ inquiries on oral infections and antimicrobial prescribing using dental professional WhatsApp groups during coronavirus disease lockdown period.

Materials and Methods Three professional WhatsApp groups of Jordanian dentists were reviewed and analyzed for inquiries posted during the period from January to May 2020. Inquiries were sent from patients to their dentists who posted these inquiries to the professional WhatsApp dental groups for consultation and professional advice. All queries regarding oral infections and antimicrobial prescribing were extracted and analyzed.

Results Three WhatsApp professional groups with a total numbers of members of 750 dentists who posted queries about their patients were included in this study. Dentist members posted queries about their patients to these professional WhatsApp groups. There was a total of 32 inquiries regarding oral lesions and 11 consultations regarding prescribing and dental management of medically compromised patients giving a total of 43 consultations. Among which there were 19 inquiries on oral infections and 9 inquiries on antimicrobial prescribing giving a total of 28 consultations. Most common inquiries were on bacterial infections (localized dentoalveolar abscess, pericoronitis, cellulitis, and lymphoid hyperplasia of the tongue), viral herpetic infections, and Candida infections (erythematous and pseudomembranous candidiasis).

Conclusions Many dental practitioners cannot distinguish the correct diagnostic features of oral infections particularly viral and fungal infections. Continuing education should be considered to focus on clinical manifestations of various oral infections. Further, educational activities that focus on variations in treatment protocols for various infections should be introduced particularly those that concern indications for antimicrobial prescribing.

Keywords

antibiotic prescribing - COVID-19 - dentists - diagnosis - oral infections - social media


Publication History

Article published online:
08 October 2020

© 2020. European Journal of Dentistry. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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