The perceived facilitators and barriers to the potential adoption of teledentistry among dental care providers in Saudi Arabia: A systematic review

Abstract

Teledentistry has emerged as a tool that holds great potential to enhance access, efficiency, and continuity of oral healthcare delivery. In Saudi Arabia, its adoption is important in the context of the health transformation programme and Vision 2030, particularly given the high prevalence of dental caries among schoolchildren. Despite this potential, actual implementation is still limited. In this context, there is a need to systematically assess the factors influencing its potential adoption from the care providers' perspectives. This review aimed to systematically identify how dental care providers perceive the facilitators and barriers to the adoption of teledentistry in Saudi Arabia, with a focus on the perception of dental care providers, including dental students. Following PRISMA 2020 and SWiM guidelines, PubMed, Scopus, Medline, Embase, and CINAHL databases were searched, covering publications up to 4 July 2025. The PICO framework was used to define the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the CASP checklist was used to assess study quality. Data were synthesised using vote counting by direction of effect, categorising findings into facilitators and barriers. Out of 156 records, 11 studies met the inclusion criteria. Study quality ranged from 7 to11 out of 11 based on the CASP checklist for cross-sectional studies. Key findings included potential facilitators such as improved access, efficiency and cost-effectiveness, communication and referral enhancements, educational benefits, and positive perception of technology. The key reported barriers were limited awareness and training, infrastructure and equipment reliability, privacy and data security, cost and financial issues, diagnostic accuracy, and the preference for in-person meetings. While teledentistry holds great potential, its integration in Saudi Arabia could be hindered by educational and technical challenges. Addressing them through improved infrastructure, enhanced training and integration into dental curricula, and strengthened regulatory frameworks may facilitate and support equitable adoption.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. PLoS ONE, 2026 · DOI ↗