Page 38 - WesternU View Summer 2019

CDM students learn about how teledentistry can benefit WesternU Dental Center staff members Veronica Lozano,
the community during their first year in school, said RDAEF, and Nicole McBain, RDAEF2, became the first
fourth-year CDM student Katie Chapman. Registered Dental Assistants with Extended Functions
(RDAEFs) in California to be certified in interim
“We wrote a paper on how we would design our own
therapeutic restorations (ITRs) utilizing the Virtual Dental
clinic to optimally operate teledentistry and how it would
Home delivery system.
benefit the community,” she said. “Now we practice what
we learned in class.” McBain and Lozano also help train and guide CDM
students while performing ITR, cleanings, and X-ray
Chapman assisted at the Mountain View School District
diagnosis, McBain said. ITR certification allows them to
Early Childhood “spoke” location, putting into practice
see patients in their own community.
what she learned in class. She said the experience has
given her a better understanding of the potential of “It’s nice to help out the kids that need to see a dentist
teledentistry. and are not able to,” McBain said. “It is satisfying to help
them in any way we can.”
“It allows you to serve the maximum number of people
with the limited resources you have,” she said. “The clinic Some patients are afraid to go to a traditional dentist’s
at school is designed to have maximum functionality, with office. They don’t want to receive anesthesia, said Lozano,
spaces for everything such as who is the lead Registered
large sterilization units. Dental Assistant at the
Everything is organized like a WesternU Dental Center.
private practice. Offsite, you “The teledentistry model
“ITR takes less time, there is no
have less instruments and you allows WesternU to reach out anesthesia and it helps the
learn to make that work.”
to more school districts…Not children feel more trusting of
Students see the entire cycle of dentists,” Lozano said.
the teledentistry model, from every site has the required After allied dental personnel
collecting information from the such as Lozano collect the
patient to providing electricity needs and space to
intraoral photographs,
comprehensive care at JSFC, house a dental clinic, even radiographs, and any other
Watanabe said. data required for appropriate
with portable equipment.”
“The goal is very much a team- diagnosis and treatment
oriented process,” she said. planning, the dentist will
“Without the buy-in and trust review the data and create a
from the school district, community and dental treatment plan. If the treatment plan includes ITR and is
institution, teledentistry would be very difficult.” discussed and consented to by the child’s parent or
guardian, certified allied dental personnel can begin the
Very few dental schools incorporate hands-on clinical
ITR procedure.
teledentistry into their curriculum, said CDM Associate
Dean for Community Partnerships and Access to Care “I don’t want to leave any children behind just because
Jenny Tjahjono, DMD. they’re scared of the dentist,” Lozano said. “This is a good
way to help them believe in oral health, trust the health
“Not only do we incorporate teledentistry, we host
provider, and prevent cavities for good, healthy teeth.”
training for allied dental personnel to be certified for
interim therapeutic restoration (ITR),” she said. Dental care is always going to be one of the highest needs in
“Personnel such as RDAEFs can perform these special this community, said Claudia Salazar, health technician for
procedures without anesthesia.” the Mountain View School District Head Start program.

The teledentistry model allows WesternU to reach out to Mountain View students receive dental screenings, but
more school districts, Tjahjono said. Not every site has families often don’t go to the dentist for follow-up
the required electricity needs and space to house a dental treatment. Some children and parents have negative
clinic, even with portable equipment. experiences at the dentist or have anxiety about seeing a
dentist. By providing dental care at the Mountain View

36 | WESTERNU VIEW Summer/Fall 2019