Specialist orthodontist Meeral Makwana will be discussing excellence in record keeping, clinical photography and radiography at this year’s British Dental Conference & Dentistry Show (BDCDS). Delegates attending Meeral’s talk will get practical advice on how to improve the quality of their orthodontic clinical photographs and gain insight on national standards relating to photographic and radiographic records.

We caught up with Meeral to find out more about what excellence in record keeping really means and why it’s such an important topic for delegates to learn more about. ‘The aim of my talk is to increase awareness on how to achieve and uphold excellent standards in record keeping. I will be giving an overview of the guidelines and tools that are out there which govern record keeping, photography and radiography in dentistry.’

As an orthodontist who relies heavily on clinical photography for every patient she treats, Meeral understands that high quality clinical photographs are essential for good record keeping, and so will also use her lecture to educate delegates on how to produce a high standard of clinical photographs. ‘I want to share clinical tips on achieving high quality images and promote this practice because it confers so many benefits to both patients and treating clinicians. High quality clinical photography is essential for record keeping, monitoring treatment progression, as well as serving as an invaluable tool for patient education. It can also be helpful when responding to complaints. Clinical photography allows clinicians to communicate so much more information to patients and to other health professionals than written notes alone.’

Despite the many proven benefits of being able to take high-quality clinical photographs, there remain numerous obstacles preventing clinicians from achieving the quality of clinical photographs that they are capable of. ‘The barriers preventing dental professionals from producing high standard clinical photographs are numerous, though fortunately rectifiable. The most common ones I can think of include a paucity in the educational value of clinical photography, a lack of formal training in photography skills, not having the right equipment, or rather purchasing equipment which does not maximise the quality of photographs.’ Meeral hopes to rectify some of these barriers during her lecture by helping delegates to better understand how to achieve higher quality clinical photographs. The lecture will be useful for nurses, therapists, dentists and orthodontists providing orthodontic treatment at any level and in any setting, as well as for any clinician involved in the imaging chain.  

Another specific area that Meeral will be covering during her lecture is the importance of radiographic reporting in dentistry, with particular focus on the use of CBCT in dentistry and orthodontics. ‘When it comes to 3D imaging, CBCT has become routine practice for many dental and orthodontic practices. However, reporting guidelines for CBCT imaging should be adhered to in order to ensure patient safety and high quality, comprehensive care, and I hope to deliver best practice on this type of radiographic reporting.’

As well as delivering her own speaking session, Meeral is also looking forward to attending other lectures at BDCDS this year, and is especially keen to learn more about CBCT from different perspectives.

You can see Meeral’s lecture ‘Excellence in record keeping: Clinical photography and radiography’ in the Specialty Interest Theatre on Saturday 13th May at 10:30 at this year’s BDCDS, taking place on 12th and 13th May at the NEC in Birmingham.