Touro Dental Health, the teaching practice at the Hawthorne campus of New York Medical College, has begun offering free virtual dental visits for its patients of record.
The service is conducted via HIPPA-compliant and secure Zoom video conferencing system. Dentists will assess the patients”™ symptoms by camera and will determine whether the course of action will require prescriptions or an office visit. Patients will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms and risk factors prior to any in-person treatment.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, Touro Dental Health has suspended all elective or nonemergency dental care, but has remained open on a limited basis to deal with dental emergencies.
“Virtual dental visits with a member of the Touro College of Dental Medicine faculty, are an additional option for our patients to seek advice from a dental expert in real tim, from the safety of their own home,” said Edward Farkas, vice dean. “While not every patient will benefit from an online consult, in many cases we may be able to provide recommendations that can help reduce pain and symptoms at home, and we can determine if an office visit is truly necessary. Our goal is to reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure for everyone involved, while still ensuring our patients receive the care they need.”
