ISDS Announces 2025 Scholarship Winners

This year, from a remarkable pool of 37 applicants representing all three dental schools in the state, six students—two from each institution—rose to the top.

It was a year of firsts, too: for the first time, every single winner was female. The announcement signals a quiet but powerful shift in the faces shaping the future of dentistry.

The challenge of applicants was to grapple with one of the most urgent questions facing the profession today. In an era where healthcare delivery is rapidly evolving, teledentistry has emerged as a potential tool to address disparities in dental care access. While in-person comprehensive oral examinations remain the gold standard, virtual dental visits present both opportunities and challenges. Drawing from your understanding of oral healthcare disparities and the role of technology, discuss how virtual dental exams could be effectively implemented to improve access to care while maintaining clinical excellence.

In their essays, they were asked to address the following three things:

• A specific accessibility challenge you've observed or researched in dental care
  
  
• How virtual exams could help address this challenge, including considerations for maintaining standard of care and appropriate reimbursement
  
  
• Your vision for integrating teledentistry into a broader solution, incorporating both immediate practical steps and long-term systemic changes you would implement as a future dental professional

Below are your winners and their essays:

LaFonte' Cherie Krushall, UIC College of Dentistry:

There are various accessibility challenges that prevent patients from receiving optimal dental care. As a Registered Dental Hygienist and current dental student I have found that patients experiencing intellectual and physical disabilities have the most challenges with finding dental providers that can appropriately address their needs and to offer quality treatment.

The biggest challenge for these patients is obtaining access to proper tools/instruments and providers that are trained to treat more complex medical histories and dental concerns. Virtual Dental exams can help improve access to care for these patients. I believe virtual oral exams are a wonderful adjunct to addressing and minimizing the challenges of limited accessible dental care to patients. As dentists, it is our responsibility and duty to ensure that patients receive quality dental care.

Virtual exams can help address this challenge by demonstrating proper oral hygiene instructions and offering personalized tips to improve oral care at home. Based on oral findings and the patient's chief concern, I believe that oral hygiene products can be mailed to patients to support their ongoing dental health. Maintaining a high standard of care is crucial for all patients, especially those in rural areas with limited providers. To ensure a high standard of care, I believe the patient’s first visit should be in person in order to be eligible for teledentistry visits.

My rationale behind this is to establish care, develop a treatment plan, and be instructed on how to use tools for virtual exams. By teaching patients how to use tools like cheek retractors and intra-oral cameras can improve the quality, accuracy, and effectiveness of remote assessments. Once seen by their dentist, depending on the presence of decay and periodontal health, patients can be eligible for 2 teledentistry exams with their dentist per year.

These virtual exams should be conducted through a HIPAA-compliant platform to ensure privacy protection and confidentiality. I believe an appropriate reimbursement for a teledentistry virtual exam should be comparable to an in-office periodic oral exam. My vision for Integrating teledentistry on a broader scale would involve both practical steps and long-term systemic changes. A key part of this approach would include the use of Intra-oral cameras to be operated by the patient and/or care provider. This would allow the dentist to better visualize oral conditions during virtual visits.

In addition, I believe another vital component of teledentistry is to have patients use disclosing tablets and easy-to-use caries detection dyes. This will greatly improve plaque and caries detection by the dentist so that proper oral hygiene and caries management instructions can be provided. Virtual exams are a great adjunct and should be used to assess the patient's risk assessments, discuss preventive and management strategies for oral health, and offer appropriate referrals. These are ways I believe virtual dental exams can improve access to care while maintaining clinical excellence.

Asia Reynolds, UIC College of Dentistry:

As a third-year dental student at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Dentistry, a mother of two, and a mentor to aspiring healthcare professionals from underrepresented communities, I carry many titles. But the one that drives me most is “advocate.” Advocacy is at the heart of all I do because I’ve seen and lived the impact of health disparities. I’ve watched family members delay care due to transportation barriers or rigid work schedules. I’ve heard mentees share how their parents couldn’t find a nearby dentist. Where someone lives too often determines the quality or the possibility of the care they receive.

One of the most pressing challenges I see in dentistry today is the geographic and socioeconomic divide that limits access to care. Families in rural areas and underserved urban neighborhoods are forced to make impossible choices: take unpaid time off or delay care. Even routine cleaning can feel out of reach for single parents, hourly workers, or those without reliable transportation. These barriers hit communities of color the hardest. But I believe there’s a solution: teledentistry. When implemented thoughtfully, it can be transformative.

Picture a working mother in a dental health shortage area whose child wakes up with tooth pain. Instead of missing work to travel miles for an appointment, she connects with a licensed dentist via smartphone during her break. A quick video consult reveals signs of an abscess, and she receives immediate guidance and a referral. This early intervention can prevent emergency room visits and unnecessary suffering, something that happens far too often in underserved communities.

For teledentistry to work equitably, however, it must meet the same standard of care as in-person visits. Tools like intraoral cameras and mobile imaging devices should be available in trusted community spaces: schools, churches, libraries, and mobile clinics. I envision school nurses or community health workers using tablet-based kits to help facilitate real-time exams. A child could receive a virtual screening at school, catching early decay or gum issues before they impact learning or well-being.

To scale this model, our systems must adapt. Electronic health records should integrate with teledentistry platforms for continuity of care. Medicaid and private insurers must reimburse virtual services fairly to ensure sustainability. Without this, we risk building a great tool that can’t reach the people who need it most.

As president of the Student National Dental Association at UIC, I’m already advocating for this future where technology and community care work together. I want teledentistry embedded in school-based programs so no child is left behind simply because their family can't attend a clinic. My journey as a student, mother, mentor, and future dentist has shown me that innovation only matters when paired with compassion and equity. When done right, teledentistry can be the equalizer we need, and I’m ready to help lead that change, one virtual smile at a time.

Claire Chalkey, SIU School of Dental Medicine:

Having been raised in a rural environment with limited resources, I witnessed how the lack of local providers created hurdles in receiving health care. Many individuals delayed or forwent treatment due to problems such as transportation, expense, and provider availability. These encounters solidified my desire to be a dentist and return home to provide care for an underserved community. As healthcare delivery has evolved, teledentistry offers a practical, forward-looking option to increase access while maintaining clinical excellence.

The greatest challenge in rural dentistry is the shortage of providers. In many places, patients must travel over an hour to the closest clinic, taking more time away from work to be scheduled. Barriers like these can be a discouragement for preventive appointments and lead to untreated oral disease. Virtual dental exams can minimize such challenges by making timely consultations, screenings, and education remotely available. In certain instances, local health workers or caregivers can guide intraoral cameras and digital imaging equipment, providing a picture of the patient's condition to the remote dentist.

Virtual examinations must meet the same quality of care as face-to-face consultations to be effective. That involves utilizing HIPAA-compliant platforms, proper documentation, and well-defined referral pathways for hands-on treatment. Dental professionals must also be trained to recognize what can and cannot be managed virtually. It is also important to establish fair and predictable reimbursement practices. Payment parity for teledentistry services with Medicaid and private payers is essential to drive adoption and ensure the financial sustainability of care models in underserved populations. As a future dental provider, I envision incorporating teledentistry into a broader hybrid practice model that accommodates the varying needs of rural populations.

Future initiatives can involve dentists collaborating with local schools and community centers to offer health literacy and screening programs, leveraging remote evaluations for support. Dentists can coordinate with local nurses and primary care physicians to create referral channels for teledental interventions and utilize portable equipment for outreach prevention services.

In the long term, systemic support will be essential. It is necessary to advocate for policy reform to ensure that teledentistry services are reimbursed on an equal basis by public and private insurance plans, so providers are fairly compensated and incentivized to deliver virtual care. Equally important is broadband expansion, which remains a significant obstacle in many rural areas. Without reliable high-speed internet, even the latest telehealth technology remains inaccessible to the very individuals who might be helped most by it. Public investment in internet infrastructure and affordability programs is required to ensure that teledentistry reaches its potential in underserved populations.

Teledentistry is not a replacement for comprehensive care in in-office encounters. However, it can be a transformative agent for broadening access, especially in rural and underserved communities like my own. By combining innovation with compassion and aligning practical solutions with long-overdue investment in infrastructure and regulation, we can bring quality oral health to every corner of our communities.

Victoria Clinton, SIU School of Dental Medicine:

The internet is our main source of information; we use it for entertainment, news, healthcare, and more. Despite this reliance, the internet is also full of faulty research and can be distorted by AI. This often makes it harder for dental patients to get the facts they need. As the secretary of my school’s pediatric dentistry club, I recently presented about children’s oral health at a local parenting group for low-income families. The class brought up many questions and misconceptions, including how often patients should see the dentist, the safety of fluoridated toothpaste, and how cavities are formed. The families’ questions demonstrate the need for a comprehensive dental education, and I believe teledentistry can improve patient knowledge and put an emphasis on preventative dentistry.

Ideally, if patients had questions about their health, they could schedule an in-person visit with their doctor to get information they need. During my time in the clinic, however, patients have expressed they face barriers when making appointments, including a lack of appointment times, the inability to take time off work, and not having a reliable form of transportation. Due to these difficulties, patients rely on the internet to give inadequate medical advice. Through teledentistry, patients would have the opportunity to speak to healthcare providers without the challenges of in-person appointments.

Teledentists can provide accurate information on controversial issues like the safety and efficacy of community water fluoridation. They can also use teledentistry for preventative education, like sharing oral hygiene instructions, making diet recommendations, and discussing the importance of regular cleanings. Although teledentistry cannot provide services like exams, radiographs, or fillings, offering guidance to patients helps prevent diseases and builds trust with providers.

To provide teledentistry to patients, dentists must make a few changes, like adopting technology to accommodate HIPAA-compliant video calls. Dentists will also need to alter their schedules by having dedicated times for telehealth appointments, such as an hour at the end of each day. Doctors should advertise these services and include information about the purpose of teledentistry, the cost of the service, and how to make a call. As teledentistry develops, providers may also create videos answering frequently asked questions, so patients can listen to trusted medical advice at any time.

These immediate steps for a single practice could be expanded throughout the state. The state dental association could partner with participating dentists to create statewide programs for patients to call with questions. This would enable more patients to have access to information and put less strain on individual dentists, since they have their colleagues across the state working with them.

Through teledentistry, dentists can offer counseling and preventative care to patients who need information about dental health. This service would help patients bypass the barriers of in-person appointments, while still prioritizing their oral health. Although it would not replace in-person visits, teledentistry would increase patients’ understanding of preventative dentistry and help build relationships between patients and their doctors.

Michelle Martinez, Midwestern College of Dental Medicine:

In today's evolving healthcare system, teledentistry has become a promising tool to address disparities in access to dental care. While in-person exams remain the gold standard, virtual visits can help bridge accessibility gaps by addressing time constraints, geographic limitations, and dental anxiety while still maintaining clinical excellence.

One major challenge in dental care I have witnessed is the difficulty patients face in attending in-person appointments due to their work limitations and distance from dental clinics. Many people lack flexibility to take time off for dental visits, while others work too far from their providers to schedule timely visits. Additionally, dental anxiety can further discourage individuals from seeking necessary treatment, worsening oral health issues.

Virtual dental exams offer a solution to these challenges by eliminating the need for patients to physically visit a clinic for initial consultations. This approach would allow those with limited availability to connect with a dentist at their convenience, ensuring that concerns are addressed in a timely manner rather than being postponed. To maintain the standard care, an online platform could simplify these virtual visits: patients would complete a pre-appointment questionnaire detailing their concerns, duration of symptoms, and their last in-person dental visit. Additionally, they would upload images of the area of concern by following clear instructions for optimal photo quality. This would provide dentist with valuable initial information to help guide their recommendations.

To ensure proper reimbursement, the platform would require patients to provide a secured deposit before scheduling a virtual exam. This would secure the provider's time while allowing teledentistry to be a sustainable method of care. The immediate practicality of teledentistry is to serve as a bridge for those struggling with accessibility. Virtual consultations would allow dentist to assess concerns, educate patients on potential treatment options, and emphasize the importance of in-person follow ups. For those with dental anxiety, a virtual meeting serves as an introduction to the provider, developing trust and making the expectation on an in-person visit less intimidating.

With the long-term changes, the addition of teledentistry would focus on fostering a patient-dentist relationship that encourages preventive care. Virtual exams would serve as an open door, guiding patients toward necessary in office visits while reinforcing the importance of oral health. By demonstrating empathy and understanding towards patients' time constraints, dental professionals can build trust, ultimately encouraging more people to prioritize their dental care. As teledentistry continues to evolve, its role should extend beyond immediate consultations to comprehensive patient education and remote monitoring.

Ultimately, teledentistry has the potential to transform the way dental care is accessed and delivered. By addressing immediate barriers while maintaining clinical excellence, virtual dental exams can serve as a gateway to improved oral health, offering a more inclusive and patient centered approach to dentistry.

Iria Diaz Cacheiro, Midwestern College of Dental Medicine:

As a mom, an immigrant, and a future dentist, I’ve faced the challenges of navigating healthcare in a new country. Growing up in Cuba, dental care wasn’t always easy to access. And when I moved to the U.S., I ran into new struggles—not just getting care, but also dealing with language barriers and adjusting to a whole new system.

Now that I’m studying to become a dentist, I see how these same challenges still affect many families, especially in underserved areas. One issue I’ve noticed a lot is how hard it is for working parents to get dental care for their kids. Work schedules, lack of transportation, and not enough dentists nearby often mean kids don’t get seen until it’s too late—and preventable problems turn into serious issues.

 Teledentistry can really help with that. It gives parents the chance to talk to a dentist online, get advice, and find out if an in-person visit is needed. This could make a big difference for families who can’t afford to miss work or who live far from dental offices. But for teledentistry to really work, it has to be done right—with good-quality images, live video calls, and clear photos from patients to help dentists make accurate decisions. We also need better policies to make sure dentists are paid fairly for virtual visits, so this kind of care stays available for everyone.

Because I’ve lived through these struggles myself, I see teledentistry as a big part of community outreach. In the short term, virtual screenings in schools or daycare centers could catch dental problems early and ease the burden on parents. In the long term, teledentistry could work alongside mobile clinics and public health programs to bring care to more people. By teaming up with school nurses, pediatricians, and local health workers, we can make dental care a more regular part of everyday healthcare.

As a mother and future dentist, I want to help remove the barriers that keep people from getting care. Learning English and adapting to this system wasn’t easy—but it made me passionate about helping others who feel unseen or left behind. Teledentistry won’t replace in-person care, but when used thoughtfully, it can be a powerful tool to catch problems early and help families who are juggling so much. By using technology and pushing for change, we can move toward a future where everyone has a real chance at good oral health.