Starting a new Perio exam
Go to the patients 'Perio' tab at the top of the patient's record.
The most recent exam will be displayed when you enter this screen if there is one.
To create a new Perio exam, select '+ New exam' in the top right.
You can choose to create a Blank exam or Clone the previous one, if possible.
Cloning will create a new exam, dated today, but will carry forward the recordings taken on the previous exam. This is useful to record only slight changes to improvements or regressions in a patient's period health or particularly useful when only a partial exam was conducted previously.
Recording a Perio exam
You can set your preferred workflow using the 'Settings' ⚙️ at the top of the perio screen.
You can configure which arch you start with, depending on which way around you prefer to call out your perio exam.
You can also set if the perio chart should progress automatically or manually.
With Automatic progression, simply start typing into the first box on your perio exam and the cursor will automatically progress to the next available pocket once a number has been entered.
Manual progression will require you to hit 'Tab' on your keyboard or use the cursor keys to move to the next pocket each time.
If a tooth has been marked as missing, extracted, unerupted etc - then a perio exam cannot be charted around it and it will not show on the chart.
Should a patient require a digit higher than 9, simply press 'd' on the keyboard to record a double-digit while typing the number—for example, press 'd' and then 2 to record a 12.
📝 Please note: If you have issues with the correct dentition being displayed in the Perio chart or odontogram, check that the correct history has been charted against the teeth and that the tooth status settings of those treatments are correct. If the problem persists, get in touch with us via support chat.
Please Note 📝 We now save any changes to each side of the Exam automatically! When you switch between screens, a ‘Save and Continue’ prompt is displayed to ensure no progress is ever lost when taking Perio exams.
If you are still encountering issues with saving Perio exams, please get in touch with Ellie Bot and the team via support chat in Dentally so we can investigate further.
Recording bleeding, suppuration & mobility
Recordings of bleeding, suppuration and mobility can be made in two ways:
Using Keys: While the typing cursor is in the correct position on the perio chart, click the corresponding key on your keyboard to mark bleeding, suppuration, furcation or mobility:
Press 'b' to record bleeding
Press 's' to record suppuration
Press 'f' to record furcation and repeat the keystroke to record furcation of stages 2/3
Press 'm' to record mobility and repeat the keystroke to record mobility of stages 2/3
With all of the above, pressing the key again will remove the recording.
Using the Mouse: Click the corresponding point on the table beneath the graphical chart for each of the desired inputs. As with the keyboard input, clicking a second time will remove bleeding and suppuration, or multiple clicks will set the stage of mobility or furcation to 2/3.
Charting plaque & bleeding
Press the 'Plaque & Bleeding' tab at the top of the exam.
By clicking on either ‘Bleeding’ or ‘Plaque’, you can add a label to a tooth surface. This will then turn the surface:
red for bleeding’
yellow for plaque,
or orange if both bleeding and plaque have been added,
As you continue to chart, the percentages of available surfaces where bleeding, plaque or both is present will be calculated and shown at the top of the chart.
Renaming the Exam
Once an exam is saved, it will be named with today's date and the initials of the logged-in clinician who recorded it.
If you wish to rename an exam with a specific name to help you find it later, you can do this by clicking the edit button by the exam name.
Editing a Perio Exam
Once saved, a Perio exam can be edited for up to 24 hours after pressing the Save option.