Digital oral health beyond professional dental care settings: A scoping review of technologies and applications from prevention to early detection.

BACKGROUND

Oral non-communicable diseases impose a substantial and unequally distributed global burden. Digital technologies have the potential to support Universal Health Coverage. However, evidence on their applications in oral health remains fragmented.

OBJECTIVE

To map the applications and maturity of digital oral health technologies used for primary and secondary prevention of oral diseases beyond professional dental care settings.

METHODS

Four databases were systematically searched for studies published through February 2026. Original studies of eligible digital oral health technologies were included. Findings were synthesized thematically, and technology readiness levels (TRLs) were mapped.

RESULTS

Overall, 305 studies were included. Digital oral health technologies for primary prevention of oral diseases focused on oral health education, behavior modification, and plaque monitoring, mainly through mHealth applications, conversational artificial intelligence, and Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled smart toothbrushes. Applications for secondary prevention focused on detection and risk assessment of caries, periodontal and oral mucosal diseases, and other oral conditions, predominantly using structured-data, image-based models, and IoT-enabled devices. TRL mapping showed higher maturity of applications in primary versus secondary prevention.

CONCLUSION

Digital oral health technologies are expanding from prevention to early detection, with potential to support more accessible and prevention-oriented dental care. However, technological maturity remains uneven, with primary prevention technologies closer to real-world deployment and secondary prevention technologies still requiring further validation before wider implementation.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Mapping the status of digital oral health technologies can support oral disease prevention and guide evidence-based implementation in dental public health.