Interactive dental charting: Towards an electronic dental information system

The ability to provide a complete and reliable patient dental records is considered as a vital factor in the continuing efforts towards a more effective, patient-centered dental care. Current dental practices, which make use of pictographic symbols and codes, differ among practicing dentists and these may lead to miscommunication and visual interactivity. The system proposed here is an interactive, visual dental charting system intended as an alternative means to the commonly practiced paper-based dental data capturing local dental clinics. The rationale behind the design of the charting system lies on the interactive mapping between the dental charts and the patient dental records. It does not only offer quick-to-comprehend, user-friendly interfaces, but also reduces miscommunication between dentists and dental assistants. It will affect positively the accessibility, reliability and consistency of the patient dental data through interactive manipulation and query by the dentists.