Best Dental Practice Management Software of 2023

However, there are many options, so deciding which is best for your practice can take time and effort. That’s where we come in. We've created this article to help dental software buyers better understand the benefits dental solutions can offer. We'll explain everything you need to know about dental software, its common features, pricing, the best dental software of 2023, and more.

What is Dental Software?

Dental practice management software gives dentists and support personnel the administrative and clinical tools to run their offices efficiently and keep vital data safe and accessible. These programs often offer appointment and staff scheduling, document sharing and storage, contact databases, reporting, dental history charting, patient records, and treatment plans, among other features. They might also support e-prescribing, help file, and track insurance claims, and provide employee communication tools.

Although dental practice management software may have some basic patient engagement features, it frequently has to link with specialized patient engagement software to enable patient education, marketing, and reputation management initiatives. In addition, to help with the financial aspect of a dental office, dental practice management software frequently interfaces with or is packaged with dental imaging software, which stores and organizes patient X-rays and images.

Although the phrases electronic dental records (EDR), electronic dental health records (EHR), and electronic medical records (EMR) for dentistry might all have slightly distinct meanings, they are frequently used interchangeably. These three words apply to software that manages the charting and maintenance of a patient's clinical information, while there may be subtle distinctions between them.

Effective dental office software typically has templates for dental offices, visuals of teeth and gums, and the ability to import and organize X-rays. To maximize the productivity of the front and back office workers, they will also have capabilities to deal with patient scheduling, billing, and coding support, patient education modules, and frequently a Web portal for patients.

Common Features of Dental Software

A product must have the following features to qualify for inclusion in the Dental Practice Management Software category. These are the key features and functionality to consider as you search for dental software:

Dentistry-specific templates

All standard procedures should have text-based templates, and the EDR should enable you to add a template fast if an emergency procedure is necessary. Routine examinations, fillings, crowns, root canals, and tooth extraction are just a few examples of often utilized templates.

Graphical tooth charting

A simple graphical representation of each tooth and gum should be included in dentist software to make it simple to spot caries, fillings, veneers, crowns, missing teeth, gum disorders, and other pertinent issues. In addition, the graphical tooth chart should update whenever changes are made to text-based templates and vice versa.

Dental imaging

The goal is to import X-rays and other digital images, instantly linking them to the patient and presenting them to the dentist in a way that makes sense to them (i.e., in the same order as the graphical tooth chart). Software for dental imaging frequently includes more sophisticated functions, such as the ability to measure a tooth or pinpoint a specific area of interest. Even while separate imaging software is available, combining it with EDR software makes integration more straightforward, which is why most suppliers offer both functions as a single package.

Dental billing and insurance

Through efficient coding support, dental billing software helps the practice increase profits while simplifying billing as much as possible. It will probably only comprise the codes required or employed by dentists as part of a dental EMR, and it can assist in grouping frequently performed treatments.

Scheduling

Look for a system that streamlines scheduling by coordinating the schedules of the dentist, hygienist, and patients and that doesn't force the back office employees to jump forward six months every time they need to book a patient out.

Patient Portal

This allows patients to complete their dental histories, update their contact information, and even receive or send bills, X-rays, and other documents from the convenience of their own homes, saving the practice time and increasing office productivity.

Best Dental Office Management Software

Here's a list of the best dental software of 2023:

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Complete, all-in-one dental software on the cloud. Across the whole value chain of the care continuum, the platform provides thorough, unified, engaging patient experiences. As a result of the smooth interaction between our integrated all-in-one modules, you have a single synergistic platform to take on today's demanding business climate.

Curve Dental

Curve Dental is a web-based or cloud-based, all-in-one dental practice management solution. Because it is web-based and compatible with any computer's operating system, it is a favorite of many practices. Curve Dentistry is good with handling everything from scheduling to invoicing and imaging.

Practice-Web

Practice-Web is capable of a wide range of things. Scheduling appointments, creating charts, e-billing, processing credit cards, setting up automated appointment reminders, and more are all available. It's a complete solution that enables paperless operations in your practice. Yet there is a significant downside. Only the Microsoft.NET platform is compatible with Practice-Web (part of Windows 10, Windows 8, or Windows 7.) You cannot utilize Practice-Web if your practice runs Linux or macOS.

Dentrix Ascend

Another cloud-based dental practice management system, Dentrix Ascend, offers management functions, charting, imaging, and group practices. The program makes it simple to track insurance policies and booking, confirm appointments, and implement reports to collect KPIs like the number of patients seen and completed procedures.

Denticon

The first cloud-based dental office administration software, Denticon, was introduced in 2003. It is a dependable program that works for all sizes of practices. It has modules for patient communication, records management, imaging/charting, treatment planning, claims management, and more. It also features business and clinical functionalities.

Dovetail

Dovetail was created for tablets, yet it may be used on any device. Thanks to the slick UI, it is simple to establish and maintain treatment plans and patient records, take notes, and optimize your billing process. In addition, you can take it everywhere because it's cloud-based and made to be utilized on mobile devices.

Dental Software Pricing

Dental software is typically priced in one of two ways, though there are some exceptions: a subscription charge paid once per month or year or a perpetual licensing fee paid all at once. The pricing structure typically corresponds to whether the program is used locally or on the cloud. Software installation on your servers is referred to as on-premise deployment. Alternatively, cloud-based deployment denotes hosting the application "in the cloud," or oline. You use a web browser to access the software through the Internet.

On-premise deployments are typically priced utilizing the perpetual license model. Yet, more and more on-premises products offer subscription pricing structures today. The pricing structure for cloud-based software is often a subscription model, where customers pay a monthly or annual charge per user. Perpetual license pricing has a higher initial cost but lower ongoing monthly or yearly payments (e.g., maintenance or support). On the other side, subscription pricing offers a cheaper initial outlay but somewhat higher ongoing expenses because you must pay the subscription fees each month or year.

Your pricing plan will mostly rely on whether you prefer a single, substantial sum up upfront and smaller fees spread out over time because the costs of on-premise and subscription models tend to converge.

FAQs

Furthermore, here are some of the most frequently asked questions about dental software:

What are the benefits of using dental software?

Dental practices can use this software to help their administrative and clinical operations. Severalctical features are available, including scheduling, charting, and keeping patient notes.

How much does dental software cost?

Most cloud-based dental software is billed on a month-to-month subscription basis, with prices for solo practitioners starting at about $200 per month. Based on the number of providers and locations, large dental clinics can anticipate paying.