Pocket Depth, Bleeding & Suppuration Mode

Pocket Depth, Bleeding & Suppuration Mode

At anytime during an examination, Pocket Depth Mode can be entered by either pressing Ctrl+D or pressing the Pocket Depth button in the Probing Mode Toolbar. Pocket Depth, Bleeding, and Suppuration (puss) follow the typical six site pattern. Pocket Depth is recorded from the probe handpiece, by pressing the center foot switch. It can also be entered from the keyboard. Bleeding may be indicated by pressing the left foot switch (or "B" key) and Suppuration indicated by pressing the right foot switch (or "S" key). Bleeding and Suppuration may be removed by entering them a second time (they toggle in and out). Pocket Depth is entered before bleeding and suppuration.

During a probing, you may reach a help dialog for these modes by simultaneously pressing both side foot switches for two seconds.

Probing depth is stored to the nearest two tenths of a millimeter in the computer, but for simplicity, it is shown only to the nearest whole millimeter on the monitor.

On the monitor, Pocket Depth numbers are rounded up at 0.4, to correspond to probing by common probes and to avoid under diagnosis. For example, 3.0 to 3.2 appear as 3, while 3.4 to 3.8 appear as 4. The exact value to the nearest two tenths of a millimeter is stored in the computer, without rounding. These exact values can be viewed by Magnifying the tooth and can be printed out in the Numerical and History of the Tooth.

Warning levels of abnormal pocket depths can be set by pressing the Options button from the Main Toolbar. Then open the Periodontal Page Options. During a visit, if a site has a warning or danger Pocket Depth an alarm sound occurs. A normal Pocket Depth will appear in black and an abnormal depth will appear in red.

On the chart, the values will appear above the facial, maxillary view and lingual, mandibular view and below the lingual, maxillary view and facial, mandibular view. Pocket depth can be represented by Depth Bar Indicators or an A.L. line or both. The symbol can be selected by pressing the Options button from the Main Toolbar. Then opening the Periodontal Page Options,

	Represents Bleeding.
	Represents Suppuration.
	Represents Bleeding and Suppuration at the same site.

If there are previous data for the patient, changes in pocket depth values can be compared to any previous visit on a per site basis. Press the Select Visit button from the Periodontal Toolbar. Highlight the dates from the desired visit and the reference visit. You can only compare the desired visit to a previous visit. If the probing depth is one to two millimeters deeper than the previous value for the same site, a will appear. If it is two or more millimeters deeper, a will appear. If there is a one to two millimeter improvement from the previous visit, a will appear. If there is a two or more millimeter improvement, a will appear.