As demand for dental services spiked, the teledentistry platform helped increase access to care
IRVINE, CALIF. September 18, 2020 – Daniel Burke, Chief Enterprise Strategy Officer at leading dental support organization (DSO) Pacific Dental Services (PDS®) discusses how PDS was able to quickly pivot its service model to help its supported practices during the earlier days of the COVID-19 crisis, including adding teledentistry capability in a new interview on the Becker's Dental + DSO Review Podcast titled, "Teledentistry, the Oral-Systemic Link, and More with Dan Burke." During the podcast, Mr. Burke discusses how PDS enabled its supported owner dentists to stay open to see dental emergencies when nearly all of their peers were forced to close in the middle of the Novel Coronavirus pandemic. For example, PDS was able to launch teledentistry in five days in April, which allowed PDS-supported dentists the ability to increase access to care for anyone with a smart phone, tablet or a computer. For more information on teledentistry, click HERE.
"Teledentistry was a solution looking for a problem, and COVID-19 was that problem," said Mr. Burke. "There was a lot of fear for patients who were at home and wondering if they should go to an emergency room for their dental emergencies. Prior to all PDS-supported practices reopening for general and emergency dentistry, teledentistry served as a great tool for patients to have a live person-to-person conversation with a clinician, and our supported dentists were able to screen patients. It still remains a popular and powerful tool."
Mr. Burke also discusses how the oral-systemic link has impacted the dental industry, and how PDS-supported dental practices were able to support their communities by staying open to treat dental emergencies.
To listen to the Becker's Dental + DSO Review Podcast episode, "Teledentistry, the Oral-Systemic Link, and More with Dan Burke," click HERE. The team at Becker's Dental + DSO Review Podcast interviews a variety of leaders across the dental and DSO space to learn best practices, share challenges, and exchange ideas.