Changing the Dental Office Culture
The lesson I learned from this experience is to change as slowly as possible without stopping all together whenever change involves a lot of people and the majority are used to another system.
Documentation in Supportive Periodontal Therapy
Failure to effectively document Supportive Periodontal Therapy is akin to failing to provide treatment in the first place because IT’S NOT JUST A CLEANING APPOINTMENT.
The Treatment Phase of SPT
Remember, SPT is the management of patients hopefully for years. It involves more assessment and communication than it does instrumentation.
Advanced Sites as Parameter #2 in SPT
Well informed patients track the numbers and understand what they mean. They know that their bleeding index should be under 20% and that they should have no pockets greater than 5mm. When we boil this all down, how hard is that?
Using Bleeding Index in Periodontal Therapy
I teach the bleeding index to patients in order to help them better manage daily home plaque control.
The Fundamental Steps of a Supportive Periodontal Therapy Appointment
Pass this along to every dental hygienist who treats periodontal patients.
Moving Patients In and Out of Supportive Periodontal Therapy
Since SPT is the destination of Periodontal Therapy, it is important that we establish what arriving looks like both for ourselves as well as for our patients.
Supportive Periodontal Therapy is the Endpoint
SPT is the management of healthy, stable patients who have a history of periodontal disease.