Dental charting is a form of patient record keeping that allows the practitioner to visually present the current state of a patient's teeth, gums, and overall dental health. From the list of charted conditions, a practitioner is able to deduce a list of ideal treatment options to resolve the patient's dental conditions and concerns.
Conditions and treatments are charted on a single odontogram, and you can hover over a tooth or badge to see what has been charted on that surface/area.
The below article will cover Principle's Charting functionality.
Jump to a section of this article:
Viewing the Patient's Charting History
Outside of an appointment, a patient's Charting history can be viewed from the Charting History tab of the Patient Profile.
In the Charting History tab, click on the date & time in the left column to view the charting from that specific appointment. A patient's old charting is locked and no longer editable once a new chart is available.
Creating a new Patient Chart
A new Chart is automatically generated when a new appointment is started. The new Charting appears in the Charting tab of the in-appointment workflow.
Charting Tour
Select Chart: click to view the history of charting.
Select Chart Type: choose between Clinical or Periodontal charting.
Dentition: select between Adult, Deciduous, or All dentition.
If you'd like to set a default dentition, follow this tutorial.
Section view: select between Both Arches, Top Arch, Lower Arch, Quadrant 1, Quadrant 2, Quadrant 3, Quadrant 4.
Filters: select/deselect the treatment you would like to display: Current, Resolved, Proposed, Prior/Existing, Completed.
Clear selected
Whole Mouth area: you can select the whole mouth to apply conditions or treatment options.
Upper or Lower Arch areas: you can select the upper, lower or both arches to apply conditions or treatment options.
Individual Quadrant areas: you can select individual quadrants to apply conditions and treatment options.
Notification of condition and treatment charted: when you hover over the number, it will tell you what conditions and treatments have been charted in the area.
Add Condition box: type in a condition name or select one from the drop-down menu.
Current Conditions: current conditions reflect the patient's current dental state.
Resolved Conditions: resolved conditions are conditions that have resolved without treatment.
Add Treatment box: type in a treatment option name or select one from the drop-down menu.
Treatment Options: treatment options are a list of ALL possible treatments that a patient could agree to.
Action Menu: the three dots will reveal a list of actions that can be taken on a current condition, resolved condition, or treatment option.
Charting a Condition
Conditions are dental problems that are charted during a patient's appointment.
Conditions do not necessarily have to be resolved by treatment but they will be kept as an official record in the patient's dental history.
Examples of conditions:
Cracked tooth
Abrasion
Wear
Chipped tooth
Metallic restoration
Crowding
How to chart a Condition
There are two ways you can chart a condition:
You can select the tooth surface/mouth area first and then select the condition from the drop-down list in the Add Condition box.
OR
You can select the condition from the Add Condition box and then apply it to its relevant tooth surface or mouth area. Do so by clicking into Add Condition and typing the name of the condition then choosing the surface to apply it to.
Adding a new Condition option
If the Condition does not appear in the drop-down list, you can quickly add a new Condition.
Watching a condition
From the list of Current Conditions, click on the 3 dots next to the condition that you would like to watch, and a menu will appear.
Select 'Add Note' from the menu.
Write any notes related to what you are monitoring.
The note will be saved to the Condition and can be seen by clicking the arrow on the condition. The practitioner, date, and time stamp will appear under the note as well.
Resolving a condition
From the list of Current Conditions, click on the 3 dots next to the condition that you would like to resolve, and a menu will appear.
Select 'Resolve' from the menu.
The Condition will now appear under the Resolved Conditions heading.
Deleting a Condition
From the list of Current Conditions, click on the 3 dots next to the condition that you would like to delete, and a menu will appear.
Select 'Delete' from the menu.
The Condition will be removed.
Mark Teeth as Missing
Select the tooth/teeth that are missing.
Click into 'Add Condition' box and select Missing Tooth from the options.
The missing tooth/teeth should now be shown on the chart as missing.
6. The missing tooth/teeth will now also appear under the Current Conditions column.
Charting a Treatment Option
Dental Treatments are a variety of management and care options that aim to restore or maintain normal oral health and function. Principle charts treatments by their name, not by item codes, which makes treatment planning easier for the practitioner and allows for better treatment plan acceptance by the patient. Item codes still live under the title of the treatment and are available for health-fund claiming purposes.
Examples of treatment options:
Extraction
Invisalign
Occlusal splint
Composite restoration
Implant
CEREC
How to chart a Treatment Option
Once all of the Conditions have been charted under the Current Conditions column, you can now start adding Treatment Options to resolve these conditions.
There are three ways you can chart a treatment option:
1) You can select the tooth surface/mouth area first, and then select a treatment option from the Add Treatment box.
2) You can click on the Add Treatment box and select a treatment option from the drop-down list and then apply it to the tooth surface/s or mouth area.
OR we recommend:
3) Treating a Condition with a pre-configured treatment option.
Treat Condition with a pre-configured Treatment Option
Treatment options can be configured to resolve specific Conditions which allows you to chart treatments faster.
1) From the list of Current Conditions, click on the 3 dots next to the condition that you would like to apply a treatment option to, and a menu will appear.
2) Select 'Treat' from the menu.
3) This will bring up the Treatment Options window.
4) Delete any teeth/surface you don't want to treat by clicking on the x next to the tooth number.
5) Select all the potential Treatment Options for this Condition.
6) Click the Treat button to save.
7) The selected treatment will now appear in the Treatment Options column.
Adding a new Treatment option
If the Treatment option does not appear in the drop-down list, you can quickly add a new Treatment.
Add a note to a treatment option
From the list of Treatment Options, click on the 3 dots next to the treatment that you would like to add a note to, and a menu will appear.
Select 'Add Notes' from the menu.
Write any notes related to the treatment and click the 'Save' button.
A note icon will appear next to the treatment name and the note can be seen by clicking the arrow on the treatment. The practitioner, date, and time stamp will appear under the note as well.
Changing the fee schedule on a treatment option
Under 'Todays Appointment' you will have the option to change your fee schedule
2. You will be able to edit different fee schedules under your settings > Fee Schedules.
Changing the practitioner on a treatment option
From the list of Treatment Options, click on the icon below. This will provide you with the option to choose another practitioner.
2. If no practitioner is chosen, it will fall under the name of the default practitioner, whose name the appointment is under.
Deleting a treatment option
From the list of Treatment Options, click on the '3 dots' next to the treatment that you would like to delete, and a menu will appear.
2. Select 'Delete' from the menu.
3. The Treatment Option will be removed.
Creating Tasks, Lab Jobs, & Adding items to the Check Out Checklist
You can complete actions such as creating a new task, lab job, or add to the checkout checklist through the in-appointment workflow per the video below.