MONTREAL -- Patients who need dental care while most clinics are closed across the country can now access an online site to connect with a dentist.
Hellodent.com, much like telemedicine, allows dentists to virtually screen patients online, provide diagnoses, prescribe medication and, if necessary, refer them to an operating dental clinic for emergencies.
The inititive was launched nationwide by the largest network of dental practices in Canada, dentalcorp, offering a free virtual dental triage service to help those having dental issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“(It) will allow patients to receive the care they need in urgent situations plus keep them at home, which is great because it helps everyone flatten the curve, plus keep them out of emergency rooms,” said dentalcorp president Guy Amini.
When the COVID-19 pandemic prompted governments to order non-essential businesses closed, dental offices were forced to ask themselves what services they would continue to offer.
Dentists are health-care professionals, but knew that many procedures could be postponed.
“The dental regulatory authorities in concert with public health authorities wanted to make sure that what dentists were doing was limiting their services to true emergency services,” said Amini.
The announcement significantly limited dental operations across the country except for those that had the infrastructure and staff to provide emergency services.
However, many patients did not know which clinics were still open.
“Patients had a real hard time identifying which practices were open for emergencies,” said Amini. “(And) patients had a hard time getting in contact with a dentist to figure out if what they were dealing with as a dental issue was emergency or not.”
By an online screening and referral, dentists can also keep patients out of already overwhelmed hospitals.
“What you didn’t want to see were a whole bunch of patients, who otherwise would have went to a dental clinic, walk into an emergency room in a hospital in this environment,” said Amini.
Amini added that dentists are better skilled and suited to triage a dental issue than an emergency room doctor or nurse.
The dentists in the network are volunteering their time, and there is no fee to access the hellodent site.
Amini admits that the solution is not equivalent to in-person care, but will help those struggling with dental aches and pains.
“In this environment, it’s a step above not being able to access any care, and it’s certainly allowing patients to know whether or not they should be worried, and allowing patients to access medicine that’s appropriate for them to be able to take to be able to deal with the pain or discomfort they’re dealing with,” said Amini.
