Accuracy of Teledentistry Versus Direct Oral Examination for Elderly in Aged-Care Homes: A Pilot Cross-Sectional Study

Diagnostic Accuracy of Teledentistry Versus Direct Oral Examination of Elderly in Aged-Care Homes: A Pilot Cross-Sectional Study

The residents will receive oral health education, then three examiners ( licensed dentists ) will perform the direct oral examination of the participants. During the same visit, a dental student will take the intraoral photographs in the aged care home.

Later, three different blinded examiners (licensed dentists) will assess the intraoral photographs of the same group of participants. The participant's dentition will be examined using the scores developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) for oral health surveys. Also, the examiners will perform a visual inspection of the oral mucosa for any signs of oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD), as the mortality of high-risk populations is proven to be reduced by visual oral cancer screening.

Finally, the residents who require treatment will be referred to Kasr EL Ainy dental hospital to receive dental treatments.

The residents will receive oral health education, by three examiners ( licensed dentists ) with a t least 5 years experience. Then the same examiner will perform the direct oral examination of the participants. They will fill the dentition status, denture status, oral lesions and intervention urgency section of the World Health Organization (WHO) form 2013 version.

During the same visit, a dental student will take the intraoral photographs in the aged care home. The photographs will include 5 views (upper occlusal, lower occlusal , frontal, right lateral and left lateral).

The photographs will be uploaded on one drive and later, three different blinded examiners (licensed dentists) will assess the intraoral photographs of the same group of participants. The participant's dentition will be examined using the scores developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) for oral health surveys. Also, the examiners will perform a visual inspection of the oral mucosa for any signs of oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD), as the mortality of high-risk populations is proven to be reduced by visual oral cancer screening.

Finally, the residents who require treatment will be referred to Kasr EL Ainy dental hospital to receive dental treatments.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Elderly living in aged care homes in Egypt
• Have the ability to communicate with the examiner
• Have the ability to give consent to participate in the study.