via mobile devices such as cell phones or tablets. Help within the dental community Another method is the Remote Monitoring Method in which dentists communicate with each other through the use of radiographs and other data like the patient’s clinical findings, photographs, test results and case history. The patient is not present in this method of teleconsultation. Disadvantages of this can include misinterpretation of messages, privacy issues and insufficient training of the professionals. Benefits Teledentistry can provide easier, cheaper and less intimidating way to connect with dentistry. Teledentistry can also be used to assist general dentists with speciality work and improve services to underserved populations such as in rural or less developed areas. Teledentistry as a Value added benefit to dental insurance policies The dental insurance industry had adopted ADA codes such as D9995 and D9996 to acknowledge that teledentistry as a subset of telehealth exists and that these codes are recognized by the industry. However, largely the dental insurance companies had not made these codes payable to dentists in the event that they were actually billed when a teledentistry service was rendered to a patient. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Dental Association in November 2020, The resolution also states that dental insurers — both public and private — should cover services provided through teledentistry at the same level as if the services were delivered in a traditional in-person encounter. This recommendation from the American Dental Association was strongly adopted by dental insurance carriers who in turn went a step further to include value added benefits to their dental insurance policies to allow for teledentistry References Dentistry Telemedicine