Advice and guidance clinics: using remote specialist advice to support primary dental care practitioners

Advice and guidance clinics allow one clinician to seek advice from another using the concept of telemedicine for the provision of real time care, including diagnosis, treatment planning and consulting. While advice and guidance (AAG) is more commonly used in medicine, the service is currently underutilised in dentistry. There is limited evidence regarding the patient outcomes of AAG services and the benefits and drawbacks of this service in dentistry. This paper outlines results from a pilot study implementing AAG clinics at the dental directorate at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust which has been rolled out to give remote specialist advice for patients referred to restorative dentistry, periodontology and sedation and special care. The service has also been rolled out to deliver remote multidisciplinary meetings for the planning and treatment of patients with hypodontia.