Teledentistry services must only be provided by a dental practitioner registered with the Dental Board of Australia, and only in cases where direct treatment or specialist advice cannot be accessed.
2.1. Teledentistry clinical services must only be provided by a Board registered dental practitioner.
2.2. Teledentistry clinical services must only be provided in cases where direct face-to-face treatment or specialist advice cannot be provided.
2.3. It is not acceptable for patients to receive procedural dental treatment without an in-person examination and the ability to directly contact their dental practitioner.
2.4. Teledentistry services conducted by a dental practitioner where the patient is in a foreign country must comply with the requirements of that country’s regulatory authorities, where such an authority can be identified and vice versa.
2.5. Teledentistry services provided should be itemised as per The Australian Schedule of Dental Services and Glossary.
2.6. Teledentistry services should be eligible to receive Funding Agency rebates.
2.7. Patient confidentiality and record keeping standards should be maintained as if the patient was physically present.
2.8. Teledentistry services should be conducted over a secure videoconferencing medium in order to protect patient privacy.
2.9. Health organisations should support the integration of in-person care and virtual healthcare delivery.
2.10. The progress of teledentistry and virtual healthcare, telehealth and telemedicine in Australia should be monitored and assessed along with limitation of non-healthcare 3rd party applications.
2.11. The further development of teledentistry or virtual dentistry in Australia is supported provided any solutions are proven to be clinically safe for patients and legally compliant for practitioners.
2.12. CPD on teledentistry should be provided to the dental workforce.
3.1. Teledentistry and teleradiology are methods of dental service delivery.
3.2. Teledentistry is beneficial for rural and remote populations. The enhanced access and reduced costs that teledentistry delivers can potentially improve health outcomes in the community by overcoming socio-economic, geographic, and cultural barriers.
3.3. Teledentistry services can be delivered in a synchronous (real-time) or asynchronous (data stored for future diagnosis) manner.
3.4. Teledentistry is not suitable for procedural dental care.
3.5. Teledentistry delivery services and record keeping will require frequent review and recommendation, and as such, dental practitioners have a duty to maintain awareness of applications and protocols and ensure appropriate cybersecurity.
4.1. BOARD is the Dental Board of Australia.
4.2. DENTAL PRACTITIONER is a person registered by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation
Agency via the Board to provide dental care.
4.3. FUNDING AGENCIES are third parties which make contributions to the payment of the fees
charged by Dental Practitioners.
4.4. TELEDENTISTRY is the use of information technology and telecommunications for the remote
provision of primary dental care, consultation, education, and public awareness.
June 2025
June 2030
This Policy Statement is linked to other Policy Statements: 3.2 Dentists, 3.3 Allied Dental Personnel,5.4
Funding Agencies, 5.15 Consent to Treatment, 5.16 Informed financial consent, 5.17 Dental Records and
6.15 Dental Informatics and Digital Health
