TELEDENTISTRY: WHATSAPP SEBAGAI MEDIA PENUNJANG PERTUKARAN INFORMASI KESEHATAN GIGI

Abstract

The beginning of this study was seen from the high cases of Covid-19 infection in health workers, especially dentists, WHO issued an appeal for dentists to carry out teledentistry for patients who wish to visit dental health clinics. However, due to the absence of integrated media for teledentistry, dentists use social media as teledentistry media, one of the most frequently used social media is Whatsapp. Whatsapp is a social media that is quite popular in Indonesia, besides this social media is quite easy to use by all social media users. This study uses a descriptive qualitative research method, using the theory of new media. The results of the analysis show that the reason dentists choose Whatsapp because it is easier to use when compared to other social media. The use of Whatsapp is considered very effective because dentists can convey all the information they want to convey to the public, especially their patients.