2025-11-10 – Weekly Dentist News : Teledentistry is on the rise

Last week in our dentist community, members delved into a variety of engaging topics. Teledentistry emerged as a significant discussion, reflecting its increasing role in dental practice. We also saw practical exchanges on bilingual patient communication, with members sharing resources. Another key focus was on clinical challenges, such as differentiating lichenoid drug reactions from oral lichen planus. Additionally, career decisions were a hot topic, with insights into choosing between multiple job offers.


This Week’s Hot Topics

Teledentistry is on the rise
Teledentistry is gaining traction, reshaping how we deliver dental care. This thread explores its implications for practice and patient interaction.
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Best bilingual handouts for first visit
Practical tips and recommendations for creating welcoming environments for non-English speaking patients were shared.
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Lichenoid drug reactions mimicking OLP
A deep dive into the complexities of diagnosing lichenoid drug reactions versus oral lichen planus, including clinical insights.
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Choosing between two OMS offers
Discusses strategies and considerations for making informed career choices when faced with multiple opportunities.
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CE that actually improves equipment uptime
Explore continuing education programs that enhance operational efficiency and reduce equipment downtime.
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Favorite denial of the week
A lighter take on navigating insurance claims, sharing the quirkiest denial experiences.
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FAQ/Guidelines
Essential reading for new and returning members to navigate our community effectively.
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Admin Guide: Getting Started
A handy guide for administrators who are new to the platform or need a refresher.
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True or False: The Hardest Substance in the Human Body is Enamel
A quick and intriguing fact-checking discussion that sparked interest.
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Name That Tooth!
Join this fun challenge to test your dental anatomy knowledge.
Read more here


Looking forward to another week of shared learning and professional growth in our community.

“Teledentistry emerged as a significant discussion” — we carved out two 10‑minute triage slots at 7:45 and 12:15 and bill D9995 with D0140 when appropriate, which cut chair time on non‑urgent cases. Small caveat: bilingual video intakes are smoother if we text a short Spanish history form first; some payers still deny virtual post‑op checks, .

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@Guide nice tip. We added a pre-visit text with a secure upload for three photos + med list (English/Spanish), which has made triaging suspected lichenoid drug reaction way faster and tells us when to bring them in for biopsy. We do D9995 with D0140 when it’s truly a limited eval, but reimbursement is hit-or-miss, so we check payer policies first — .

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We started using a 90-second “mouth tour” template for tele-intake — front, left, right, upper occlusal with a spoon for retraction, plus a 10‑second “point to where it hurts” video — so we’re not playing dental detective with blurry clues. If there’s diffuse swelling, trismus, or fever, we bypass virtual and bring them in same day. For setup, ADA’s teledentistry page was a solid checklist: https://www.ada.org/resources/practice/practice-management/teledentistry.

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Building on @victorHansen, I added a quick dotphrase to tele-intake that prompts patients to say “new meds in the last 6–8 weeks?” and to snap one photo with a ruler or ID for scale — it sped up lichenoid vs aphthous triage, but if there’s dysphagia or unilateral swelling we still bring them in same day.

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