Abstract
Paralleling the global ageing phenomenon is a greater proportion of older people moving into
aged residential care (ARC). ARC residents have poor oral health and oral health-related
quality of life. With few skilled caregivers relative to the number of residents in ARCs, most
of whom have multimorbidity, polypharmacy, and high general care requirements, residents’
oral health is often neglected until an acute problem arises. Moreover, ethnic, socioeconomic,
and level of care dependency-related disparities exist among older people. A key barrier to
residents’ good oral health and well-being is their difficulty in accessing oral health care
services.
Means of overcoming access barriers to essential oral health care are urgently needed.
Teledentistry offers a possible solution, yet there are few international studies on teledentistry
in ARCs, and none in New Zealand (NZ). Understanding more about its feasibility and
acceptability among ARC residents and staff would inform its implementation.
This study aimed to determine ARC residents’ and staff perceptions of the benefits of and comfort with
teledentistry use in ARCs in the Otago region of NZ, and to identify end-user-level factors
associated with its use in ARCs in NZ.
This study uses a cross-sectional design and a quantitative approach. Rest-home level residents
and care staff in ARCs in the Otago region were surveyed to gather information on participants’
awareness of teledentistry, perceptions of benefit and comfort using teledentistry and end-user level factors associated with the feasibility of using teledentistry in ARCs. Data were analysed
using Stata SE 17.0 statistical software.