Teledentistry: Knowledge, attitude, and perception among undergraduate and postgraduate dental students

Background: In India, improper access to health services, particularly oral health care, is the main concern. As a result, teledentistry is a novel technique of practicing that ensures an exponential increase in clinical practice and public health-care delivery. Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and perception regarding teledentistry among dental students of Andhra Pradesh, India. Materials and Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. Two hundred and fifty dental students are selected through a random sampling technique, including 3rd year Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), 4th year Bachelor of Dental Surgery, interns, and Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) students studying in Andhra Pradesh. Dental students' knowledge, attitude, and perception regarding teledentistry was recorded using a self-administered, structured, pretested, and validated questionnaire administered through Google Forms, and the completed questionnaires were statistically analyzed using Statistical software (SPSS 25). Descriptive statistics included the computation of percentages and inferential statistics; the Chi-square test was used for intergroup comparisons. Statistical significance was set at P ≤ 0.05. Results: A total of 250 (100%) participants participated in the study. Sociodemographic data indicates that most respondents were between 20 and 23 years of age [n = 153 (61.2%)]. Most of the respondents accounted are females [n = 184 (73.6%)], and the remaining were males [n = 66 (26.4%)]. Majority of the participants were BDS [n = 193 (77.2%)] and the remaining were MDS [n = 57 (22.8%)]. The majority of postgraduate students, 77.2% (P = 0.022), were found to be familiar with the definition of teledentistry. It was observed that the majority of postgraduate students, 78.9% (P = 0.02) had knowledge about teledentistry and how to improve the health education of the masses. It shows that 61.4% (P = 0.002) of postgraduates believe that teledentistry can save time in dental practice. The overall study results uncovered that the postgraduates had a greater mean knowledge score than undergraduates. Conclusion: Most dental students were aware of teledentistry, its benefits, drawbacks, and how to use it. As teledentistry is still a nascent technology, this topic should be included in dental education.