Recording perio measurements

Rebrief lets you fill in a full periodontal chart while you keep both hands free, by speaking your readings as you probe. You can also type or click any value directly. This article covers how the chart is laid out, the order Rebrief expects your readings in, how to capture six-point depths by voice, and how to fix a value that lands in the wrong place.

How the perio chart works

Below the tooth diagram you'll see the periodontal grid, split into four sections so every surface has its own row of cells:

• Upper Buccal
• Upper Lingual
• Lower Lingual
• Lower Buccal

Each tooth gets three cells per section — one for each site — so you record six points per tooth across the buccal and lingual sections (distal, middle, and mesial on each side).

Every section shows four rows:

• PD — probing depth, in millimetres. This is the value you dictate or type.
• GM — gingival margin / recession.
• CAL — clinical attachment level. This row is calculated for you from PD and GM, so you don't enter it by hand.
• BOP — bleeding on probing. A red asterisk marks a site that bled.

Probing depths are colour-coded by severity, so deeper pockets stand out at a glance.

The probing sequence

When you dictate bare numbers, Rebrief places each reading on the next site automatically, walking the mouth in a fixed order. It moves three sites across each tooth, tooth to tooth along the arch, crosses the midline, then moves to the next quadrant — so you only have to read numbers, not name every site.

The exact path follows your probing protocol preference (covered below). You don't have to start at the first tooth or follow the whole loop — you can jump anywhere by saying where you are.

Tip: Say "start from 18", "now lingual", or "now lower" to move the cursor. Any numbers that follow fill in from there.

Capturing six-point depths by voice

With your microphone on during the appointment, you can chart hands-free.

1. Begin probing and read each depth as a plain number: "three, two, one." Rebrief fills the three sites of the current tooth in order, then advances to the next tooth.
2. Keep going around the arch. Single numbers work too — say "four" and it lands on the next open site.
3. Call out bleeding in place as it happens: "three, bleeding, two, one" marks the middle site as a bleeder and continues with the next depths. You can also say "mesial", "distal", "interproximal", or "all sites" to place the bleeding more precisely.
4. Record gingival margin or recession by saying "recession three" (or "gingival margin three"), optionally with "mesial" or "distal".
5. To repeat the previous reading, say "repeat", "same", or "ditto". "Repeat times three" applies it to the next three sites.

Note: Plain numbers are only read as probing depths during charting. Numbers that are clearly part of conversation — durations, symptom scores, "a couple of weeks" — are ignored, so you can talk to the patient without polluting the chart.

Correcting values

Mistakes are easy to fix, by voice or by hand.

By voice:

• "Undo" (or "scratch that", "delete", "cancel") removes the last entry. "Undo the last two" steps back further.
• "Actually that last one is 2" overwrites the value you just entered.
• Name a specific site to fix a single cell, for example "take off the bleeding on the mesial buccal of 16."

By hand:

• Click any PD or GM cell and type the millimetre value. PD accepts 0 and up; GM accepts negative values for tissue above the margin.
• Click a BOP cell to toggle the red asterisk on or off.
• The CAL row updates on its own — you can't edit it directly, and you don't need to.

Typing always wins, so if voice puts a number in the wrong cell, just click that cell and correct it.

Your probing protocol preference

Rebrief offers three probing protocols, and your choice sets the order voice readings travel around the mouth:

• Maxillary First — works through the upper arch first, then the lower.
• Facials First — works the facial (buccal) surfaces of both arches before the lingual surfaces.
• Custom Order — a sequence you draw yourself on a mini tooth chart, for when neither preset matches how you probe.

Set this when you first set up your account, and change it any time under Default Probing Protocol in Settings. This is a personal preference, so each clinician can chart in the order they're used to without affecting anyone else.

Tip: If voice readings seem to jump to the wrong section, check that your probing protocol matches how you actually probe — that's almost always the cause.