The Dental Record, also called the patient chart, can be used in many ways to help run the dental practice. Some the these ways are: evaluating the quality of care that is provided to the patient, providing a means of communication between the treating dentist and any other doctor who will care for that patient, serving as a document to be used in a court of law to establish the diagnostic information that was obtained and the treatment that was rendered to the patient,
providing information on forensic odontology, helping to determine whether the diagnosis and treatment conformed to the standards of care in the community.
The components of the dental record include both administrative and clinical information such as:
- Database information (name, address, contact information)
- Dental insurance information
- Referral letters and consultations with referring or referral dentists
- Medication prescriptions including type, dose, amount, directions for use and number of refills
Other important information about how to use the dental record are: information about HIPAA rules on protecting health information and information about health/dental history forms.
The course also includes a glossary of dental terms.