Background: Teledentistry has emerged as a promising approach to improve access to and the quality of oral health care. However, its integration into dental education and practice remains limited. Notably, there is a lack of research in the Canadian literature regarding dental students' perspectives on teledentistry. In this study, we aimed to explore perceptions, experiences and training needs of undergraduate dental students towards teledentistry implementation in Canadian dental schools.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2022 to July 2023. We invited undergraduate students enrolled in the third or fourth year of study at 1 of 5 dental schools in 3 provinces to participate in the study. Data were collected through a bilingual, online, self-administered, closed-ended questionnaire. Descriptive analyses were conducted to identify key conditions for the successful implementation of teledentistry into the curricula, from the perspective of undergraduate dental students.
Results: The survey was distributed to 585 people, of whom 43 (7.4%) completed the entire questionnaire, including questions on sociodemographic characteristics; an additional 3 respondents submitted partial responses. Of the 43 respondents with complete responses, about half were 25 to 29 years of age (51% [22/43]), female (53% [23/43]) and in their third year of the dental program (63% [27/43]). Eight of these 43 participants (19%) self-identified as members of minority groups. Nearly all the respondents (98% [43/44]) expressed a lack of awareness regarding teledentistry guidance publications during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the respondents expressed a positive perception of incorporating teledentistry into the existing curriculum (81% [35/43]) and during clerkships (86% [38/44]).
Conclusion: To our knowledge, this study is the first to explore the attitudes, experiences and needs related to implementing teledentistry of undergraduate dental students in Canada. Despite positive attitudes, participants reported limited knowledge of and experience with teledentistry. Although this study involved participants from only 3 provinces, these insights may inform decision-makers who are considering the integration of teledentistry into dental curricula.
Keywords: Attitude; awareness; dental schools teledentistry.; dental students; practices.