Past Tellies Award Winners: 2024

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  Dental Industry Innovator

  Montshire Pediatric Dentistry

  Dr. Norris is a Board-Certified pediatric dentist practicing in southwest New Hampshire. His practice, Montshire Pediatric Dentistry, has 8 locations which have implemented a comprehensive set of innovative workflow solutions that enhance their approach to minimally invasive care while maximizing the scope of practice for their dental hygiene team. Montshire utilizes teledentistry as part of their innovative approach by enabling dentists to supervise hygienists and authorize the delivery of invasive care services to patients regardless of a doctor’s location. The result is a new standard for pediatric patient care.

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  Dental Innovator

  Tony Mendicino Jr., DDS, CDO

  Dr. Mendicino is a prominent community dental health educator and provider for the New York State Dental Association. He has played a significant role in promoting the integration and utilization of teledentistry in NYSDA’s support of Head Start Programs which perform screenings on school aged children, capture intraoral images and apply SDF fluoride varnish when prescribed. In order to provide approval for the application of SDF fluoride varnish, a dentist uses teledentistry to review intraoral images, then recommends treatment and/or provides approval for SDF placement. Follow-up synchronous video calls are also scheduled to further extend access to care. Dr. Mendicino’s efforts have significantly increased the acceptance and growth of teledentistry for New York State.

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  Dental Education Innovator

  Idaho State University

  Crystal Kanderis created an oral health program that expanded the use of teledentistry by utilizing Idaho State University nursing students. To date, Crystal, a nursing faculty member and a trained dental hygienist have trained 112 nursing students across three cohorts to use MouthWatch Intraoral Cameras and TeleDent. These students have since participated in over 23 rotations with 8 to 16 students per rotation. During these rotations, they provided over 140 oral health screenings, and appropriate referrals. In addition, they have applied over 110 fluoride varnish treatments. These quantifiable outcomes underscore ISU’s commitment to enhancing access to preventive oral healthcare services for underserved communities across Idaho.

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  Dental Hygiene Innovator

  Crystal Spring, BSDH, RDH, LAP, FADHA

  Smiles Across Montana (SAM) is a non-profit organization bringing access to care for children of all ages across the state. Hygienist Crystal Spring created this program to serve underinsured and uninsured children who deserve essential preventive dental services. Teledentistry enables this program to reach any and all locations who need its preventive care, while helping those who need more extensive care to a dentist as soon as possible.

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  Oral Health Program Innovator

  Peak Vista Community Health Centers

  The Peak Vista Community Health teledentistry program receives referred patients via TeleDent software and provides synchronous and asynchronous exams and care for patients who previously did not have access to dental services. This transformative program affords patients access to exams, triage, treatment, planning, and referrals in a way they didn’t have previously and can conveniently occur in the convenience of the patient’s home, place of work, or car rather than having to travel to the dental clinic.