Role of Telemedicine for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons: In the Phase of COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed conventional medical practice patterns across all health disciplines including oral and maxillofacial surgery practices. Telemedicine adoption has rapidly accelerated since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine provides increased access to medical care and helps to mitigate risk by conserving personal protective equipment and providing for social/physical distancing and disease transmission reduction while maintaining uninterrupted care of patients. To date, there are no specific guidelines to optimize telemedicine encounters in the oral and maxillofacial surgery practice. The goal of this paper is to provide best practices for both oral and maxillofacial surgeons and their patients to effectively utilize telemedicine during and beyond the Corona pandemic from Indian outlook.