Teledentistry helping patients during COVID-19 outbreak

PITTSBURGH — Dentists in Pennsylvania now have the go-ahead from Gov. Tom Wolf to restart most procedures, but what if your dentist is still closed or you're worried about going into the office?

The University of Pittsburgh’s School of Dental Medicine is offering teledentistry during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Angela Charonis desperately tried to get a dentist’s office on the phone on March 30 during the height of the coronavirus pandemic lockdown.

“I woke up Monday morning in the worst pain ever,” Charonis said. “I didn't know what I was going to do, and I work in health care. I didn't know what I was going to do.”

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With offices closed, the best she could do was leave messages. It got so bad, she almost went to the emergency room, but then she sent her boss a text.

“She said, ‘Well, why don’t you call the Pitt Dental School?’” Charonis said.

Pitt’s School of Dental Medicine has been providing dental care to patients from all over the region for generations, so she called and within the hour, Dr. Stephen Levine called her back and was assessing her condition.

“Everybody we talk to needs to see a dentist. There's no doubt about it. It's just what we're trying to do with anything in telehealth is delay the face-to-face meeting for safety purposes,” Levine said.

Soon after, Charonis was picking up an antibiotic and the pain went away. Now she is waiting for her regular dentist’s office to reopen.

“I don’t know if I ever would have done a telemedicine dental visit unless I was in the middle of a pandemic with the worst pain that I’ve ever had in my life,” Charonis said.

Levine said it’s just the latest change in a COVID-19 world, and Pitt’s Dental Medicine is fully embracing the technology.

While Charonis' appointment was over the phone, in the future, Levine said they plan to expand.

“It will incorporate video. So if I can see some things and we can do some reasonable testing at home with you,” Levine said. “Our world has changed in two months. It’s monumental what we’ve done in two months. It’s amazing to me.”

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