Charting Watch areas

[jonesrdh]

There are several things that I can not figure out how to chart on Open Dental. The most important is a watch area. What are you guys using for that?

Also a chipped area that is not needing treatment. Or a NCCL (non carious cervical lesion) or the abfracted area of a tooth with recession.

Thanks.

[DavidWolf]

I setup a procedure code named 'ZWatch' I set it up just like a filling requiring a surface.
I chose the color overide and picked pink. I added the procedure to my quick link buttons for fillings.

When I want to 'watch' a tooth I Just choose "Watch" instead of composite or amalgam. If the lesion progresses to something that I want to fill...I just open the procedure and change the code to whatever the filling should be.

You can setup a Watch code for just about any procedure. For example if you have recommended an elective crown to a patient....you can have a procedure code that is called ZCrown and set it up to paint a crown in override color pink and then you know that it was not actually planned for treatment only recommended. It is easy to discern on the graphic chart
I found this much easier to use than the diagnosis status because I kept getting confused when I was looking at the chart graphic everything that was painted red was not actually a procedure that still needed to be completed.

If you need any more info on how I set this up feel free to contact me directly.
david@davidwolfdds.com

[articaine]

Is there a reason you are putting a Z in front of Watch? Is that to put that procedure at the end of the list of procedures?

[jordansparks]

Well, you don't want to start it with D. And you also want to force ordering alphabetically. So that's one of many ways to handle it.

[fishdrzig]

David Wolf

Thanks for the advise, it works great!

[Rickliftig]

I havn doing this for several months (probably since David's post) and realize that I have a bunch of short appointments showing up in the "make/find" appointment window (treatment planned as watch). Is there anyway to set the procedure lengthto 0 minutes? vers. 6.14.17

[DavidWolf]

I solved this problem by charting the watches a existing current provider. They do not show up in the treatment plan and therefore won't be confused for planned treatment which has not been scheduled.

[Rickliftig]

Thanks David!