503 - Asynchronous Teledentistry: Assessing Efficacy With Three Intraoral Image Capture Devices

Introduction: This research evaluates and compares three oral image capture methods for asynchronous teledentistry in community-based settings. The methods include a low-cost intraoral camera (MouthWatch), an iPhone 8, and an HD intraoral camera (MouthWatch Plus+).

Methods: Using a customized 14-image guide template, 60 image sets were collected from 5 adult volunteers by 2 calibrated 3rd year dental students who utilized all 3 capture methods. Two calibrated dental examiners independently evaluated each image and determined acceptability for caries diagnosis. Total time and number of images taken to complete an image set was also recorded. ChiSq was used to determine significant associations between dental evaluator acceptability and capture method and interrater reliability was determined using Cohen's Kappa.

Results: The average time to complete a 15-image set was 174.35 seconds and required taking 16.37 images. Dental reviewers HK and JK found that 48.44% (436/900) and 49.89% (449/900) of images were of acceptable quality and able to visualize all necessary structures respectively. The two evaluators agreed on the acceptability of 96.33% of images (867/900)

Conclusion: This research sought to evaluate the efficiency, reliability, and quality of three distinct oral image capture approaches employed in asynchronous teledentistry within community-based settings. The comparison encompassed images taken with a low-cost intraoral camera (MouthWatch), a mobile phone, and an HD intraoral camera (MouthWatch Plus+). Notably, the analysis revealed no significant association between the type of device used and the percentage of images deemed acceptable by our dental evaluators.