Perio Charting Practice

[Dawnell Sechler]

Despitethe fact that 47% of the population has some degree of periodontal disease per CDC reports, and practices with strong perio programs report that around 30% of their patients are receiving periodontal care, just 3% of hygiene codes billed nationally are in the 4000 (perio) range. Full-mouth charting is key to solving this issue on a number of fronts.

At its core, the standard perio chart in Practice-Web works just like its paper predecessor did. Pocket depths are manually recorded from scratch individually, either by typing in the numbers or using a Windows touchpad. Plaque, calculus, bleeding, and suppuration can be added individually too.

Even though traditional digital perio charting in Practice-Web is quicker and easier than paper charting, many hygienists will still want an assistant to help with the documentation. The three perio charting tools outlined below make it possible to have complete documentation without having an extra set of hands or having to continuously move between the patient and the chart.

Do more with insightful data and information that drives your decisions and accelerates your success. Utilize over 300 detailed reports on implant tracking, perio charting, treatment reports, critical patient data, prescription planning, and referrals to dramatically improve your workflow and increase the capabilities of your periodontal practice.

Take the level of patient care and the growth of your multi-specialty practice to new heights. DSN Cloud Multi-Exec is your ticket to better workflows, treatment planning, and patient care. Schedule a demo today with the DSN team and learn more about what our innovative technology can do for you.

Great gums afire! The modern dental practice has needed a better solution for charting, tracking, and reviewing periodontic patient data. Curve has surfaced an amazingly innovative design with a simplified interface. Our advanced graphical view includes teeth that are drawn anatomically correctly, which allows for easier perio charting and increased input accuracy.

A Periodontal Chart is also referred to as a gum chart. It is a graphic chart dental professionals use for organizing the information about your gums. Periodontal charting is the best way to uncover the difference between patients that are periodontally healthy and those with periodontal disease.

The initial periodontal examination and probing can be quite traumatic to patients in whom significant periodontal disease is present. Inflamed, swollen soft tissues and teeth with deep periodontal pockets will be extremely sensitive during this examination.

3-5mm with bleeding: Early stages of gum disease, the beginnings of Periodontitis. This may require additional treatment, better home care and three to four visits to the dentist per year.

5-7mm with bleeding: This means soft and hard tissue damage, as well as bone loss. Definitive treatment is required, over several visits, greatly improved home care and many more hygiene visits to prevent tooth loss.

You can also create perio exam templates for your hygienists to use. Then they can use the template and change any necessary information that may vary from patient to patient. For example, you could create a template for a tobacco user, that includes heavy stain, and the risk factor of smoking.

The perio exam information can be entered when your hygienist is doing the perio exam for the patient and recording probe depths. The updated classifications will ensure that your office is current with industry standards as well as protect your office from any claims that something was missed during an exam.

The introduction of Dentrix Voice Perio, would be an additional tool to assist your hygienists with recording periodontal probe depths and perio exam information. Dentrix Voice Perio is a voice-to-text tool that can be used to record periodontal information, as well as clinical notes by speaking into a hands-free microphone.

Charlotte Skaggs is the founder of Vector Dental Consulting LLC, a practice management firm focused on taking offices to the next level. Charlotte co-owned and managed a successful dental practice with her husband for 17 years. She has a unique approach to consulting based on the perspective of a practice owner. Charlotte has been using Dentrix for over 20 years and is a certified Dentrix trainer. Contact Charlotte at [email protected].

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VoiceWorks allows dental hygienists to verbally transcribe pocket depths, recession, bleeding, mobility and large restorations (i.e. bridges, crowns). This allows dental professionals to focus on patient education while also keeping them actively engaged throughout their treatment.

Simply plug the VoiceWorks USB Key into your computer and create your own personalized voice le with a Florida Probe specialist. The most effective voice- controlled perio charting ever created is now ready to use!

Often, electronic charting software can be difficult to learn, requiring you to memorize keyboard shortcuts to add data manually and locate detailed information in other screens. They can be highly technical, which means either spending hours learning how to use the software or going back to the old pen-and-paper method - neither of which are desirable options.

One size fits all dental charting is no longer a valid solution. Improvement starts by using tailored solutions that are specific to periodontal practices that can address the unique needs and requirements of each practicing doctor.

PANDA Perio was developed directly from a periodontal practice to close the gaps that other out-of-the-box solutions left behind. Simple point-and-click technology with over 200 chartable findings allows you to spend less time on tasks and more time on patient care without sacrificing accuracy or thoroughness. With a shorter learning curve and minimal technical knowledge needed, doctors can save hours per week on charting alone.

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All information is for internal use only and is kept confidential.

In 2009, we are pleased to announce a major upgrade to our FP32 software, Version 9, which features E-pad digital signature capture and storage for Patient Diagnosis Sheets/informed consent; Live Chat feature within the actual software; SQL database management and support for our new wireless keypad (part of the GoProbe System).

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What Does It Do?

Sounds and Images generated from our periodontal charting software during the exam engage the patient in a high-tech, co-diagnosis experience that simultaneously educates and motivates them to accept recommended periodontal therapies.

How Does It Work?

Pre-exam Patient Education Videos prepare the patient for the exam and get them thinking about the oral-systemic link. To view our Patient Education movies, click here.

The Bottom Line:

Periodontal charting for growing your practice. While the FP32 software allows you to quickly and easily record periodontal charting data, the real value is its ability to increase patient treatment acceptance. Now, therapy can begin in the earliest stages of the disease, often preventing early bone loss and possible surgery. Of course, this also means an increase in your hygiene and perio production, which affects your bottom line both positively and dramatically.

Voice-activated periodontal charting systems have been available for some time. The big question is: how can they benefit the practice? When the pandemic struck, it was clear that a voice-activated charting system would reduce the need for an additional charting person in the operatory and limit the number of contaminated surfaces when the hygienist was charting alone. The author, a hygienist prior to becoming a prosthodontist, opted for VoiceWorks by Oral Science (Brossard, QC), manufactured by Florida Probe (Gainesville FL) because the product had excellent brand recognition and a long-term positive reputation among clinicians. It was not anticipated that this simple decision would spark a revolution in the dental hygiene department. The initiative to reduce surface contamination and operatory personnel evolved into so much more.

The headset is light and comfortable. VoiceWorks eliminates the repetitive movements that a dental hygienist must make when alternating between gathering probing data and transferring the information to a manually written periodontal chart.

This system is easy to integrate into the dental hygiene workflow. Once the software is installed, the dental hygienist is trained on the software and their voice is recognized by the software in less than an hour, and the system is ready for clients. The software can understand and interpret various accents precisely. The dental hygienist can utilize their preferred periodontal probe and the entire charting can be completed quickly and accurately. This software integrates with most practice management/electronic health record software systems.

This striking improvement in communication has significantly improved treatment acceptance, client retention, and ultimately office production (Table 1). It is very rewarding to have a practice that provides appropriate preventive therapies. (Figs 2, 3)

A voice-activated periodontal charting system offers numerous advantages to not only clinicians and clients, but to dental practices. This is a technology that is easy to integrate, can be easily utilized throughout the day, and benefits clients, clinicians, and the practice.

While many practices effectively incorporate periodontal therapy into the comprehensive management of their patients, some practitioners deal with the frustration of return on investment. This may be due to lack of appropriate training, including team members, in managing periodontal patients on a day-to-day basis, patients who cannot appreciate periodontal disease and the subsequent treatment due to being asymptomatic, or not having an understanding of the potential growth niche of periodontics in the overall practice structure.

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