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Understanding Bola Voice Missing Teeth Functionality

An in depth look at the missing teeth step in Bola's Perio charting workflow, including the Dentrix and display settings that make it succeed or fail.

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Written by Matthew Ferguson

Expand Your Knowledge:

  • The Missing Tooth step in Bola's workflow is imperative for the success of your perio charting. If this step fails you will notice navigation errors or Bola spot charting on the incorrect tooth

  • The success of your Missing Tooth Step has to do both with your Dentrix settings as well as your Bola Voice Settings. Please remember these two work side by side and it is therefore very important settings match.

  • The Select Teeth to Skip button on the Bola Voice App does not change the patient's Dentrix chart; it only tells Bola which teeth to skip for the current exam. Teeth already marked missing in Dentrix (the "M" symbol) are detected automatically when you start a new perio chart. Teeth that Dentrix does not mark "M" (implants, pontics, and unerupted teeth) are not detected automatically; for those, mark them to skip in the Bola app or say "Skip" or "Next" while charting, and do not change their status in the Dentrix chart.

Your Dentrix Settings:

  • Remember that Bola Voice App and Dentrix work Side by Side

  • Dentrix is the program that moves your cursor, Bola depends on knowing where the missing teeth are to know how to move accordingly

  • The Missing Tooth step only recognized the "M" Symbol on the perio chart to know a tooth is missing. If you have your Dentrix settings set to skip anything else this will cause navigation issues.

  • To check Dentrix Settings:

    • On the perio chart click on the Setup Menu>Entry Settings Setup:

    • Anything highlighted in the right hand box tells the Dentrix Cursor will skip. This setup will work correctly with Bola:

Your Display Settings:

  • Bola builds its tooth map by reading the Dentrix perio chart from your screen. Anything that changes how the chart is drawn, or blocks Bola from reading it, will fail the Missing Tooth step the same way a covered window does. This is one of the most common causes and one of the easiest to overlook.

  • The Bola app and the Dentrix perio chart must be on the same screen. Because Bola reads the chart from a screenshot, it can only find a perio chart that is on the same display as the Bola app. If the perio chart is moved to a second monitor or a television and the Bola app stays behind on the original screen, Bola cannot find the chart and this step fails. A window split across two screens fails the same way.

    • Keep the perio chart and the Bola app together on one screen, side by side, with the full chart visible.

    • If you move the perio chart to a different display, move the Bola app to that display as well, then press Start New Chart and click the perio chart header again before you continue.

    • Do not leave either window straddling two screens.

  • Confirm all three:

    • Resolution is 1920 x 1080 or higher

    • Scaling is set to 100%. Having the screen zoomed in or out is not recommended

    • Colors are rendering normally. Bola matches the chart as it appears on screen, so anything that shifts the colors can break detection. Confirm color depth is set to 32-bit True Color rather than 16-bit (Display adapter properties, then List All Modes), that HDR and Night Light are turned off (Settings > System > Display), and that the Dentrix perio chart is not using customized colors

  • Windows stores resolution and scaling separately for each display, so check these on the screen you are actually charting on rather than only the main one. A television used as a second display is a common problem: Windows often sets it to a scaling value above 100% and turns HDR on by itself, and either one alone will fail this step.

  • If the practice runs Dentrix through Remote Desktop, Citrix, or a thin client, color depth and resolution can be capped by the session rather than by the local machine. Check the session settings too.

  • The full list of supported settings is in Bola System Requirements.

  • If resolution, scaling, and colors are all correct and the step fails on only one computer, antivirus or endpoint protection on that machine may be blocking Bola from reading the chart. Ask the practice's IT team to allow the Bola app on that machine, then test again.

Best Practice Tips:

  • Situate your Perio Chart and Bola Voice App side by side, make sure the full perio chart is visible:

  • When starting a new patient ALWAYS press the Start New Chart Button on the Bola app to clear out any previous patient information

  • Bola will search for and recognize ONLY the Dentrix "M" missing tooth Symbol. It WILL NOT detect other Dentrix Icons

  • Best practice with Bola Voice is to chart quadrant by quadrant

    • This will allow you look and notice any navigation issues quickly

    • You can use Bola's built in chimes as audio cues to assist as you're probing

  • If you are probing and you notice a tooth is missing that wasn't previously marked there is a tooth you don't want to probe say: "Skip" or "Next" to move the cursor forward one tooth

Correct Order of Operations when Starting a New Perio Chart:

  1. Mark missing teeth on the hard tissue chart in Dentrix

  2. Open the patient perio chart

  3. Click "Start New Chart" on the Bola App

  4. Turn on the Microphone by clicking the blue Mic Icon at the top of your Bola App

  5. Click on the header of the Perio chart

    1. This click automatically triggers the missing tooth identification step

  6. Verify the correct teeth were identified by glancing at the app

    1. You will see a success message as well as the missing teeth numbers listed on the Missing Teeth Button:

Steps If Identifying Missing Teeth Fails:

  • You will know this step fails if you click on the perio chart and you do not receive the Success Message but are instead still prompted with steps on how to mark missing teeth. The Select Teeth to Skip on Perio Chart button will still be blinking:

  • On some app versions this appears as a pop-up titled Missing Teeth that reads "Bola can't detect Missing teeth / Cursor information from your PM," and the button is labeled Mark Missing Teeth rather than Select Teeth to Skip on Perio Chart. Both refer to the same step. For a short version of this fix, see What the Missing Teeth Pop-Up Means (Dentrix Desktop).

  • First check the screens. The Bola app and the perio chart have to be on the same display, and the full chart has to be visible. If the chart ended up on a second monitor or a television while Bola stayed on the original screen, if either window is split across two screens, or if any part of the chart was hidden, move everything back onto one screen, press Start New Chart, and click the perio chart header again.

  • Then check the display settings above on that screen: resolution at 1920 x 1080 or higher, scaling at 100%, and colors rendering normally. Wrong display settings fail this step even when the chart is fully visible.

Manually mark missing teeth following the prompts:

  • Use the command: "Mark missing, #,#,#,#" for example, "Mark missing, 1, 16,17,32"

  • You can also press the Select Teeth to Skip on Perio Chart Button, and click the missing teeth manually in the tooth graph:

      • You will also notice an "All Present" check box or "Mark Wisdom Teeth Missing" check box to save you clicks in those scenarios

  • Once these steps are complete, verify that the Dentrix Cursor and the Bola Voice app are showing the same position:

  • Continue with your perio charting commands

  • Contact your support person to help you troubleshoot further

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