The dentistry industry has been impacted by the technology revolution, as have other businesses. Blockchain technology stands out among the cutting-edge solutions being presented because of its capacity for transformation. The dentistry business can benefit greatly from this decentralised, secure data recording system.
Blockchain Technology in the Dental Practice
1.Keeping Up With Electronic Health Records: Patients who see many dentists might have to endure several tedious dental examination processes. They may be required to repeatedly complete forms and supply all of their dental and medical records. They might not be able to recall every prescription they have taken as a result. Additionally, they could overlook to discuss some underlying diseases since they don’t think they’re that relevant. Additionally, they could have to have needless dental X-rays taken, which could expose them to radiation multiple times.
Completing dental records and recording a patient’s oral and dental health can be difficult for dentists. This may result in lengthier therapy sessions and consultations that are less productive. A patient may potentially receive a false diagnosis if they are referred to another dentist. Blockchain technology, on the other hand, may be able to simplify this procedure, leading to shorter dental visits and better attention to detail.
Medical histories, prescription orders, vital signs, lab test results, radiography, doctor and nurse notes, routine dental checkups, and other Internet of Things (IoT) sources are all included in patients’ electronic health records, or EHRs.
2.Procedures for Dental Treatment: IoT and blockchain technology enable the safe storage and use of dental data for individualised patient care. This contains details about dental structure, cavities, the development rate of endodontic or malignant lesions, cleaning capacity, and even oral bacterial ecology. Clinicians can make better decisions about treatment, prevention, and decision-making with the use of this data.
Dentists must submit a detailed account of the care they have given, including information about diagnosis, clinical findings, decision-making, materials used, and treatment procedures. This is another way to look at the application of blockchain in dentistry. Each dentist is subsequently held responsible for their acts after this data is entered into the blockchain system.
Patients are less likely to make mistakes or ignore their treatment during therapy when they have access to their treatment information. Furthermore, the fact that treatment records cannot be changed without consent from both parties should help to avoid needless or unfair patient litigation against healthcare practitioners.
Prescribers may alter prescriptions for drugs based on information they have access to regarding a patient’s prior and present medication histories as well as any known sensitivities. During patient examinations, doctors can use this information to make well-informed judgements about which medications to prescribe and whether to forgo certain ones in order to avoid interfering with lab testing.
3.Enhancing Patients’ Motivation and Emotional Tolerance: Patients should take part in recall sessions on a regular basis in order to guarantee the success of most dental treatments. These visits should take place every two years to every three months, depending on their oral health. Additionally important to preserving general dental health, preventing disease, and spotting problems early on are yearly examinations. Regrettably, a lot of individuals experience dental anxiety, which makes them miss appointments and exacerbates their oral health issues.
We can enter more detailed data, such as a patient’s cooperation, their capacity to bear stress on both a physical and psychological level, and the dates of their recollection sessions, to enhance their care. With the use of AI-powered toothbrushes and a Bluetooth-connected phone app, we can also keep an eye on how often and how well they brush.
It is now feasible to protect and track a complete collection of data regarding patients’ brushing behaviours, including frequency, sufficiency, and inefficiency, by using blockchain technology and AI algorithms. Potential smartphone apps can then be used to keep an eye on patients’ eating patterns.
The use of blockchain technology in the supply chain management of the dental sector.
Blockchain technology holds great promise for transforming supply chain management in the dentistry sector through improved sustainability, efficiency, authenticity, traceability, and recall management. The advantages for dental professionals and patients alike are certain to be substantial as we investigate and apply this cutting-edge technology further.
1.Using Blockchain Technology to Transform Traceability: The tracking of dental supplies from manufacture to delivery could be completely transformed by blockchain technology. Every object, including dental floss and implants, may be uniquely identified on the blockchain by a tamper-proof digital identity. An unparalleled degree of traceability and transparency is made possible by the ability for stakeholders to follow each item as it moves through the supply chain.
2.Boosting Productivity and Lowering Errors: We can significantly lower human error and streamline processes by implementing blockchain technology for data management in the dental supply chain. Blockchain-based automated digital records have the potential to replace paper-based solutions. By doing this, errors are reduced and procedures are sped up considerably, saving time and resources.
3.Verifying the Authenticity of Dental Supplies: Dental professionals’ credibility and patient safety are seriously jeopardised by the presence of counterfeit dental goods. Blockchain technology can assist in solving this issue. Dental supplies’ provenance and travels are recorded on an unchangeable blockchain, allowing authenticity to be checked at every stage of the supply chain and assisting in the eradication of fake goods.
4.Improving The Recall management : Dental supply recalls can be difficult and complicated procedures. The recall procedure can be made more efficient and quick with blockchain. The blockchain tracks the course of every product, making it far easier to locate a bad batch and take prompt action to reduce patient risk.
5.Promoting Sustainability: Blockchain can also help promote sustainability in the dental industry. By tracking the lifecycle of dental supplies, from raw material sourcing to disposal, we can identify opportunities for reducing environmental impact and promoting responsible practices. The transparency provided by blockchain can encourage dental supply manufacturers to prioritize sustainability.
Can blockchain technology aid in dentistry research and technology development?
1.Blockchain integration with other technologies: Information technology, nanomedicine, biotech, IoT, AI, augmented intelligence, social media, blockchain, personalised medicine, EHRs, wearables, etc. are just a few of the technological trends that are being integrated into healthcare to improve patient outcomes by combining diagnosis and treatment.
By allowing devices to connect with one another and share trustworthy data in real time, blockchain technology combined with IoT, AI, and machine learning has the potential to completely transform digital health economies. As a result, communication will centre upon technology rather than humans. Numerous IoT-connected devices can be managed and their operations coordinated by blockchain technology.
In doing so, it improves transaction processing, guards against errors, and builds a pliable structure that can hold real things. The safe characteristics of blockchain contribute to the preservation of data privacy and trust, lower costs by doing away with middlemen, and speedy one-to-one transactions. Processing times are shortened as a result, from days to seconds.
2.Research data management for oral health: A tremendous quantity of patient-generated and health data has been gathered as a result of the globalisation of the digital economy. Clinical trials may make use of this data, or it may be distributed to medical professionals for use in referral procedures. Efficient management of health data entails maintaining data integrity during collection and storage, as well as providing user-friendly apps with quick access and filtering capabilities to facilitate interoperability.
To improve research outcomes, it is important for patients, dentists, statisticians, organizations, and committees to easily share information. The use of blockchain technology can accelerate and secure this process. This shift in data authority from clinics and corporations to patients and those directly involved in the information could greatly benefit the research field
3.Enhancement of clinical trial quality: Patients have the option to grant researchers short-term access to certain sections of their information. Based on the study’s inclusion criteria, this procedure aids in the patient selection for clinical research, leading to quicker, higher-quality trials with a bigger sample size. Researchers can use historical data for potential future uses and gain access to the most useful group of data.
Researchers are looking through historical medical archives to discover novel approaches and cures for uncommon illnesses. But researching these illnesses without access to demographic datasets is difficult.
Similar to this, patients can use a pseudonym to submit information for research into uncommon or little-studied disorders. This makes it possible for people who don’t trust research institutions to be more actively involved in the field and who might otherwise be less inclined to participate in research or to go unreported because of facilities or accessibility issues.
Additionally, blockchain technology permits cryptographic authentication of transactions, guaranteeing data authenticity and integrity certification and thwarting malevolent manipulations. Every user keeps an open record of all data that can be tracked thanks to time stamping.
In conclusion, the decentralised, transparent, and secure characteristics of blockchain technology have the potential to fundamentally alter the dental sector. The opportunities are numerous and revolutionary, ranging from improving supply chain management to driving technical developments and research to optimising operations in dental clinics.
Unprecedented levels of efficiency, security, and growth in the dental sector could be unlocked by using blockchain technology as we continue to navigate its future. A new age in healthcare is heralded by the combination of blockchain technology with dentistry, which holds the potential to improve patient and practitioner outcomes.