TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparison of a smartphone-based photographic method with face-to-face caries assessment
T2 - A mobile teledentistry model
AU - Estai, Mohamed
AU - Kanagasingam, Yogesan
AU - Huang, Boyen
AU - Shiikha, Julia
AU - Kruger, Estie
AU - Bunt, Stuart
AU - Tennant, Marc
N1 - Includes bibliographical references.
PY - 2017/5
Y1 - 2017/5
N2 - Objectives: This study sought to evaluate the efficacy of a mobile teledentistry approach using a smartphone camera for remote screening of dental caries. Materials and Methods: An image acquisition Android App was created to facilitate the acquisition and transmission of dental images to a store-and-forward based telemedicine server. One hundred participants who were attending routine checkups at dental clinics were enrolled in 2014. Following a face-to-face oral screening by a screener (dentist), images of patients' teeth were obtained using a smartphone camera. These images, along with patient information, were then transmitted from the Android App to the server through the Internet for later independent assessment by two charters (off-site dentists). The assessments of these charters were then compared to the benchmark face-to-face caries assessment. Results: Sensitivity values for the photographic method when compared to the benchmark face-to-face caries assessment were moderate, and ranged from 60% to 63%. Weighted kappa (K) as a measure of intragrader agreement for the photographic assessment was estimated as almost perfect (K = 0.84). The intergrader agreement for the photographic method compared to the face-to-face caries assessment ranged from moderate to substantial (K = 0.54-0.66). Conclusions: Despite some limitations, the mobile teledentistry approach has shown the potential to detect occlusal caries from photographs taken by a smartphone camera with an acceptable diagnostic performance compared to traditional face-to-face screening. This study suggests that telemedicine and cellular phone technology can be combined to create an inexpensive and reliable screening tool.
AB - Objectives: This study sought to evaluate the efficacy of a mobile teledentistry approach using a smartphone camera for remote screening of dental caries. Materials and Methods: An image acquisition Android App was created to facilitate the acquisition and transmission of dental images to a store-and-forward based telemedicine server. One hundred participants who were attending routine checkups at dental clinics were enrolled in 2014. Following a face-to-face oral screening by a screener (dentist), images of patients' teeth were obtained using a smartphone camera. These images, along with patient information, were then transmitted from the Android App to the server through the Internet for later independent assessment by two charters (off-site dentists). The assessments of these charters were then compared to the benchmark face-to-face caries assessment. Results: Sensitivity values for the photographic method when compared to the benchmark face-to-face caries assessment were moderate, and ranged from 60% to 63%. Weighted kappa (K) as a measure of intragrader agreement for the photographic assessment was estimated as almost perfect (K = 0.84). The intergrader agreement for the photographic method compared to the face-to-face caries assessment ranged from moderate to substantial (K = 0.54-0.66). Conclusions: Despite some limitations, the mobile teledentistry approach has shown the potential to detect occlusal caries from photographs taken by a smartphone camera with an acceptable diagnostic performance compared to traditional face-to-face screening. This study suggests that telemedicine and cellular phone technology can be combined to create an inexpensive and reliable screening tool.
KW - Caries
KW - Dental photography
KW - Dental screening
KW - Smartphone
KW - Teledentistry
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U2 - 10.1089/tmj.2016.0122
DO - 10.1089/tmj.2016.0122
M3 - Article
C2 - 27854186
AN - SCOPUS:85019153520
VL - 23
SP - 435
EP - 440
JO - Telemedicine Journal and e-Health
JF - Telemedicine Journal and e-Health
SN - 1530-5627
IS - 5
ER -