When a new patient attends your practice the dentist will carry out an extensive routine examination. This appointment gives the dentist a chance to gather up all nesscasry infromation they will need to plan any further dental treatment needed or, if the patient is of good oral hygiene, they will be advised to call back every 6 months for a routine examination and clean.
The Examination appointment consists of:
- Checking Medical History
- Dental Charting
- Periodontal Exam
- Radiographs and any other investigations
It is your job as the dental nurse to prepare the surgery. Setting out any instruments and materials the dentist will need such as: mirror, probe, periodontal probe, tweezers etc. Before entering the surgery the patient should be asked to fill out a medical history form. These can be given at reception or an online format is avaiable at most practices. And ensure that this has been done before the appointment to save surgery time. When in surgery the dentist will then go over the medical history with the patient to ensure they have a full understanding and nothing has been missed out. It is important that the peitent fills out a full medical history form. Stating any medication or health problems they may have or have had. According to the General Dental Council (GDC), you must make and keep complete and accurate patient records, including an up-to-date medical history, each time that you treat patients. You should record as much detail as possible about the discussions you have with your patients, including evidence that valid consent has been obtained. It is a matter of clinical judgement how often the updating of the patient’s medical history should take the form of a written questionnaire or a verbal confirmation
Once everything has been checked the dentist will call out a full charting of the teeth for you to copy onto the patients record including Any restorations such as crowns, bridges and implants the patient has at present.
B.P.E ( Basic periodontal examination)
This is an examination of the gum condition and will be taken at each examination/routine/recall appointment. This is done with an instrument called a (WHO) periodontal probe and will be recorded along with the patients charting. The Following illustrations from the British Society of Periodontology show what the scores with the periodontal probe represent.
Both the number and the * should be recorded if a furcation is detected – e.g. the score for a sextant could be 3* (e.g. indicating probing depth 3.5-5.5 mm PLUS furcation involvement in the sextant).
Bitewing Radiographs
These are a set of 2 x-rays as shown below that show the posterior teeth, one is taken for each side and the images show the upper and lower teeth on the one image. Dental Nurses can undertake additional training to take dental radiographs on Post-qualification dental nurse training courses.
Bitewing holder
This is used to help position the radiographic film into the patients mouth. The film is placed into the holder and the patient bites gently to stabilise it. The dentist then lines up the X-ray tube to take a good quality x-ray.
Gathering all of this information allows the dental team to plan the best course of treatment and care for the patient.
The GDC have a certain standard of care they expect dental professionals to work by as outlined in their publication standards for the dental team. Dental Nurse Training covers this publication as well as all of the other relevant publications and our Dental Nurse Training Course is updated regularly in line with the latest guidelines.
Follow the link below to see more information about maintaining and protecting patients information
General Dental Council – Maintain and protect patients’ information (gdc-uk.org)