<s>
Teledentistry	B-Application
is	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
and	O
telecommunications	O
for	O
dental	O
care	O
,	O
consultation	O
,	O
education	O
,	O
and	O
public	O
awareness	O
(	O
compare	O
telehealth	O
and	O
telemedicine	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Direct-to-consumer	O
orthodontics	O
companies	O
like	O
SmileDirectClub	O
also	O
utilize	O
teledentistry	B-Application
,	O
but	O
have	O
drawn	O
criticism	O
regarding	O
proper	O
supervision	O
of	O
care	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
means	O
of	O
providing	O
a	O
method	O
by	O
which	O
dentists	O
could	O
still	O
communicate	O
with	O
their	O
patients	O
during	O
the	O
shutdown	O
,	O
teledentistry	B-Application
became	O
adopted	O
across	O
the	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
US	O
,	O
several	O
laws	O
had	O
been	O
enacted	O
to	O
curb	O
the	O
rise	O
of	O
direct-to-consumer	O
orthodontics	O
which	O
also	O
invalidated	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
teledentistry	B-Application
by	O
duly	O
licensed	O
dentists	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
laws	O
were	O
quickly	O
rescinded	O
to	O
address	O
the	O
pandemic	O
and	O
hence	O
teledentistry	B-Application
is	O
now	O
widely	O
used	O
by	O
dentists	O
in	O
the	O
US	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
American	O
Dental	O
Association	O
has	O
designated	O
the	O
code	O
D9995	O
for	O
this	O
type	O
of	O
teledentistry	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
American	O
Dental	O
Association	O
has	O
designated	O
the	O
code	O
D9996	O
for	O
this	O
type	O
of	O
teledentistry	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Remote	B-Application
Patient	I-Application
Monitoring	I-Application
:	O
</s>
<s>
mHealth	B-Device
:	O
</s>
<s>
Teledentistry	B-Application
can	O
provide	O
easier	O
,	O
cheaper	O
and	O
less	O
intimidating	O
way	O
to	O
connect	O
with	O
dentistry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Teledentistry	B-Application
can	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
assist	O
general	O
dentists	O
with	O
speciality	O
work	O
and	O
improve	O
services	O
to	O
underserved	O
populations	O
such	O
as	O
in	O
rural	O
or	O
less	O
developed	O
areas	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Teledentistry	B-Application
being	O
a	O
remote	O
practice	O
has	O
gained	O
a	O
lot	O
of	O
popularity	O
in	O
this	O
technologically	O
advanced	O
world	O
where	O
people	O
prefer	O
to	O
access	O
things	O
over	O
their	O
gadgets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Valued	O
around	O
USD	O
1	O
Billion	O
in	O
2021	O
,	O
the	O
Teledentistry	B-Application
Market	O
is	O
expected	O
to	O
reach	O
around	O
2.6	O
Billion	O
by	O
the	O
year	O
2030	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
dental	O
insurance	O
industry	O
had	O
adopted	O
ADA	O
codes	O
such	O
as	O
D9995	O
and	O
D9996	O
to	O
acknowledge	O
that	O
teledentistry	B-Application
as	O
a	O
subset	O
of	O
telehealth	O
exists	O
and	O
that	O
these	O
codes	O
are	O
recognized	O
by	O
the	O
industry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
largely	O
the	O
dental	O
insurance	O
companies	O
had	O
not	O
made	O
these	O
codes	O
payable	O
to	O
dentists	O
in	O
the	O
event	O
that	O
they	O
were	O
actually	O
billed	O
when	O
a	O
teledentistry	B-Application
service	O
was	O
rendered	O
to	O
a	O
patient	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
onset	O
of	O
the	O
COVID-19	O
pandemic	O
,	O
the	O
American	O
Dental	O
Association	O
in	O
November	O
2020	O
,	O
The	O
resolution	O
also	O
states	O
that	O
dental	O
insurers	O
—	O
both	O
public	O
and	O
private	O
—	O
should	O
cover	O
services	O
provided	O
through	O
teledentistry	B-Application
at	O
the	O
same	O
level	O
as	O
if	O
the	O
services	O
were	O
delivered	O
in	O
a	O
traditional	O
in-person	O
encounter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
recommendation	O
from	O
the	O
American	O
Dental	O
Association	O
was	O
strongly	O
adopted	O
by	O
dental	O
insurance	O
carriers	O
who	O
in	O
turn	O
went	O
a	O
step	O
further	O
to	O
include	O
value	O
added	O
benefits	O
to	O
their	O
dental	O
insurance	O
policies	O
to	O
allow	O
for	O
teledentistry	B-Application
.	O
</s>
