Amrita Neupane

English 2010

May 3, 2017

Part 1

Introduction:

There are different types of writing in different field. For Example,

Doctor writes different thing than accountant in bank, Social worker writes

different than a journalist. I am planning to go to the field of dentistry. I want

to be a Dental Hygienist. In this field also we need to do some writing like

writing small chart note in which they write everything patient says and also

chart what teeth are already missing, what needs to be done in red color pen

and existing in blue color pen like in the picture.

So, in this essay I am going to write about dental

charting/recording that Dental Hygienist has to do,

what is the purpose of recording/charting,

conventions, relationship between reader and

writer.

Purpose:

There are many purpose of charting/recording in the field of Dentistry.

And also it is very important to chart everything because it is the means of

communication. It provides a communication between the treating dentist,

dental hygienist, dental assistant and other doctors who will care for that
patient. Another purpose of recording is that it can help in the identification

of a dead or missing person. For example, if the people cannot be recognized

by their face in case of accident, then forensic odonatologist might use

dental record to recognize them. Dental record Is also recorded to evaluate

the quality of care that had been provided to the patient.

Context:

The context in which charting is done is every time after checking

patient, taking radiographs etc. Other situations or events you need to

include in your chart notes are as follows:

When a patient misses or no-shows for an appointment

Any communication you have with a patient over the phone or email

concerning their treatment

When a patient is noncompliant
When a patient is rude or confrontational with the staff
When something does not go as planned during treatment or healing.

Reader and writer:

The writer in this field is anyone who write/record after checking

patient. It could be Dentist, Dental hygienist or dental assistant. Like, I wrote

before that recording/charting in this field is for communication between

Dental professional, everyone has to write. And Reader would be other

dentist, dental hygienist and dental assistant or the same person before

checking any patient because they have to know about them.

Conventions:

The convention of this genre should be

clear, correct, concise, and complete.

neat, well organized, and easy to read.
The information should not be ambiguous or contain many

abbreviations
The outside cover of the chart should only display the patients name

and / or account number.

Charting should include radiographs of the patient.

Part 2

Works cited

At first when I heard of this project I had no idea what dental hygienist

do. But I knew little about how things are in the field of dentistry because I

took dental assistant class last summer. To know more about it I read two of

websites that my teacher e-mailed me. On those websites I found about

what are the purpose of charting in this field, how it is expected to do, in

which situation it should be done etc. I also looked in other website to get

more knowledge about it. Besides, I used my notes that were given me when

I was taking dental assistant class. Here are the websites below that I used:

Charangowda, B. K. "Dental Records: An Overview." Journal of Forensic

Dental Sciences. Medknow Publications, 2010. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

Jaecks, KELLI Swanson, RDH. "STRAIGHT FROM THE CHART." Pardon Our

Interruption. RDH, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.

Devadiga, Arishka. "What's the Deal with Dental Records for Practicing

Dentists? Importance in General and Forensic Dentistry." Journal of

Forensic Dental Sciences. Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd, 2014.

Web. 28 Apr. 2017.

Part 3

Patients name: Michael Jackson

Patient Name: Michael

Jackson

Chart note: Patient reports smoking for 20+ years, 1.5 packs a day.

Discussed with patient her smoking habit and how it directly correlates with

her periodontal condition. Explained findings seen on X-rays and during

periodontal exam. Answered all questions patient had. Patient states, I dont

want to quit smoking, even if I will lose my teeth someday.

Part 4

Purpose

As I said earlier the purposes of charting are to communicate, keep record of

patient, helps in identification of missing person and helps to evaluate the

quality of care that had been given to patient. In part three I chart what a

patient named Michael Jackson is missing, what needs to be done in red and

existing in blue and also I noted everything Mr. Jackson said. With the help of

the chart dentist or other hygienist can treat him. They dont have to go and

check him again. I also charted everything I did like explained finding seen

on X-ray and during periodontal exam so other dont have to do again. In

case, if Mr. Jackson get into an accident and unrecognizable then, dental

chart might help to identify him.

Writer/Reader:

In this field both reader and writer could be dental assistant or dental

hygienist or dentist, in addition reader could be other medical professional

like doctor or nurse who will be treating the patient or it could be forensics

odonatologist. Here I am the writer, and the reader could be anyone. It could

be me or other dental/medical profession who will treat Mr. Jackson.

The rhetorical conventions:

Dental charting is very important, like I said before it is means of

communication, everyone use it from dentist, dental hygienist, dental

assistant and other medical professional, so it should have written clearly,

correctly, completely, neat and well organized, readable. It should not

contain many abbreviations like I did in part three. While charting about Mr.

Jackson, in first picture of part three I chart it neatly and clearly, I didnt over

mark and also it is easy to understand. While writing short chart note I didnt

use any abbreviation or wrote it too long. I also included dental radiographs

of patient.