What does this mean on a dental chart/treatment plan, any dentists familiar?

[Niki87]

Hi, I noticed on one of my treatment plans, there are 3 colour codings. Red which I know are for cavities, one tooth on the far left has a blue mark on the key with a little picture of a clock which I am assuming means to watch. The dentist never mention this upper right molar and said there were no concerns, but it’s obvs been marked for a reason.

I know, the obvious thing to do would be to ask the dentist, however we have parted ways since the extraction that lead me to this website, following a rushed filling that was literally on the nerve and said root canal wasn’t likely to be successful. (This was on left side, pic below is right side) there was a lack of care and 100% lack of aftercare when I had problems. he simply asked me to send a photo and it’s a bit of a red flag to me when they don’t want to take a quick look to properly assess you, especially when you are anxious, would have taken 5 minutes. I therefore reached out to another dentist who examined me and prescribed antibiotics, unfortunately still having issues but that’s on my other thread.

So cant really ask them but I’m assuming other dentists may use similar and know what the yellow means? Worth asking as it’s another thing to worry about. I can only eat on my right side currently so bit concerned. The new dentist I spoke to after who I had a new assessment with never mentioned this tooth at all. UR6

Appreciate different practices will use different ways but appreciate any insight.

 

[Niki87]

Ps all I managed to find online was that it could indicate ‘separation’ but not sure what this means or what type of separation ….

 

[Gordon]

Sorry, all the different dental computer systems use their own codes, that's not one I'm familiar with. Normally there's a code for a filling present and satisfactory, so it may well be that?

 

[Niki87]

Thanks Gordon, I do have a small composite in there so that would make sense.

Couple of questions if you would be so kind, That tooth originally had an amalgam which cracked and was replaced by a composite a few years ago. The amalgam had leaked and the tooth went grey, which is what took me back to the dentist as I thought it had rotted! That tooth still looks grey and I understand that the staining from amalgam is permanent when it has leached into the tooth?

Dont get me wrong, I’m not bothered about the colour it’s not visible, it just looks like the tooth is bad and always makes me nervous about it. I also think I have a bit of gum recession around that tooth so I just try to keep it as clean as possible. I use those small interspace brushes, as the bristles splay out and get under the gumline better so hopefully clean out any debris before I use my electric toothbrush that has a gentle brush head. I also finally massage a bit of Colgate sensitive gum toothpaste over the whole tooth and gumline and leave a little smear on before going to bed. Is there anything else I can do to protect the gum further? Apart from my hygiene visits aswell etc?

I never had a high sugar diet anyway but used to drink a lot of plain sparkling/flavoured water (no sugars)which I understand is still bad? It just made it more interesting than plain water and helped me drink more and stay hydrated.

 

[Gordon]

That tooth still looks grey and I understand that the staining from amalgam is permanent when it has leached into the tooth?

Yes, sometimes it fades a bit after the original amalgam is removed but it's pretty permanent.

I never had a high sugar diet anyway but used to drink a lot of plain sparkling/flavoured water (no sugars)which I understand is still bad?

It's not that bad in the overall scheme of things, it's slightly more acidic than plain water, but it's not worth worrying about unless you're sipping on it constantly all day long. A glass at mealtimes is fine.

Is there anything else I can do to protect the gum further? Apart from my hygiene visits aswell etc?

No, sounds like you're doing all the right things already.