MouthWatch, LLC the developer of the TeleDent teledentistry solution, recently recognized five teledentistry pioneers during its fifth annual Teledentistry Innovation Awards, affectionately known as the “Tellies”. The prestigious awards were presented during an invitation-only live event hosted during the recent Greater New York Dental Meeting

According to MouthWatch, LLC CEO and founder Brant Herman, “It was great to return to our traditional live awards ceremony to recognize five outstanding examples of how teledentistry is rapidly moving beyond an emergency triage role and becoming a core technology for improving access to care and wide range of patient outcomes.”

For the fifth consecutive year, the purpose of the Tellie Awards was two-fold:

1) Highlight the many ways that teledentistry is being implemented across a broad spectrum of oral health care, including dental hygiene, private practice, education, public health, and organizational settings.

2) Recognize individual, forward-thinking dental providers who are realizing the full potential for connected dental care technology and who are reshaping the practice of dentistry to improve the state of oral health across the country.

Here are the five 2022 Tellie Awards winners and their respective categories:

1. Tiffany Grant, RDH | Dental Hygiene: As CEO of Access Teledentistry, Tiffany has been teaching providers how to improve care through teledentistry by presenting around the country and consulting with associations, dental schools, and non-profits. She started her teledentistry career at the first Missouri pilot program serving schools, nursing homes and FQHCs. She's recently added teledentistry to her private practice setting to expand its hygiene hours.

2. Dr. Jin Xiao | Dentist: Dr. Xiao is faculty at the University of Rochester Medical Center and authored an extensive teledentistry study funded by the NIH incorporating store and forward and live video to provide dental exams. The study was done through the University of Rochester Eastman Institute for Oral Health and the National Practice Based Research Network. Dr. Xiao is expanding the possibilities of teledentistry by combining it with artificial intelligence.

3. Fones School of Dental Hygiene, University of Bridgeport | Education: Under the guidance of Dr. Jennifer Boyce, Associate Director of Clinical Affairs, the School uses teledentistry to enable their students to provide free dental care to their local population, including children, the homeless, senior citizens, veterans, and pregnant women. They plan to make teledentistry and mobile dentistry a clinical rotation experience for all second-year students. Additionally, the school has developed a program that educates pregnant women on their heightened risk for oral health problems while providing on-site treatments to those in need.

4. Floss and Gloss |Public Health: Teledentistry has been a pivotal part of The Floss and Gloss Program from the Purchase District Health Department in Paducah, Kentucky. Launched in 2019, and under the direction Program Manager Leah Smothers, RDH, the Floss and Gloss program is now providing children with access to oral care in thirty-eight different schools in Western Kentucky. This year, the teledentistry program will have two dentists and will be introducing SDF treatments on qualifying children in their pilot program to treat tooth sensitivity and slow tooth decay.

5. Apple Tree Dental | Organization: This innovative non-profit's mission is to overcome barriers to oral health. Dr. Jennifer Boyce, Associate Director of Clinical Affairs was instrumental in incorporating teledentistry to help Appletree Dental achieve that mission.

Teledentistry played a crucial role in their mid-pandemic projects that targeted triaging urgent dental concerns and in now a part of daily care at Apple Tree. Using teledentistry for triage saves patients time, money, missed work time and the need to arrange for childcare while freeing up precious chair time to deliver treatment.

“Congratulations to this year’s Teledentistry Innovation Awards winners,” said Herman. They are proof positive that when a teledentistry solution such as TeleDent by MouthWatch is put into the hands of forward-thinking, patient-focused providers and educators, innovation occurs. We’re proud to be a part of these programs that are driving the future of virtual patient care.”

Pictured (above) from Left to Right:

Tiffany Grant, RDH | Access Teledentistry, Heather Leubben | Apple Tree Dental, Leah Smothers, RDH | Floss and Gloss, Natalie Olsen, DA | Apple Tree Dental, Dr. Jennifer Boyce | Fones School of Dental Hygiene. (Not pictured: Dr. Jin Xiao, who accepted her award virtually.)