What Is the Best Dental Practice Software?

Dental practice management can be daunting.

The good news is, there are countless tools available to make your life more convenient. By tools, we mean dental practice software that is designed to streamline both your clinical and administrative tasks.  

From scheduling appointments, processing payments and insurance claims, and communicating with patients, to charting, compiling notes, and tracking employees, you and your team can count on the right dental practice management software to ensure your practice runs as smoothly as possible.  

As a digital marketing company that works with dentists across the country almost every day, we know how much of a lifesaver dental software can be.

That’s why we’ve compiled this list of the top seven dental PM software programs, along with features that make them stand out. Before we explore each of them thoroughly, let’s give you a quick checklist to help you determine the ideal one for you.

Ask Yourself These Questions First

Deciding which dental practice software works best for you requires careful thought and consideration. You don’t want to invest in one that ends up being a complete waste of money!  

Here are some useful questions to ask yourself:  

• What features does your practice need most?
• What problems do you have to solve to grow your dental business?
• What’s your budget for the software and does the pricing fit into your budget?
• Do you plan to continue using any of the existing software in your practice? If so, do you believe it will integrate seamlessly with your new dental PM software?
• Will your team find it easy to use the new software and take full advantage of its features?  
• What kind of training does it provide? Does it include a resource library to help you and your team use the software?
• What kind of support does it offer to users? Is that support available outside of business hours?

Make sure that you discuss these questions with your key team members. That way, you’ll know what you truly want, need, and can afford. This will give you the reassurance that you’re choosing the software solution that’s right for your needs.

The Best Dental Software Platforms in 2022

As we mentioned earlier, there are countless options available. The software solutions you’ll see below meet the following criteria:

• 4+ star reviews on Software Advice and/or Capterra
• Outstanding features
• Top-notch customer support and training
• Excellent value for money
• HIPAA compliance

Ready to explore your options? Let’s begin!

1. Dentrix

Over 35,000 dental practices rely on Dentrix to manage their day-to-day routine.

What makes Dentrix a crowd favorite is the fact that it combines technology with connected workflows to help dentists expand and grow their practice. It offers integrated eServices to improve efficiency, data-driven business insights to increase profitability, and professional training and support to help dentists provide even better patient care.  

Why Choose Dentrix?

• Record all procedures on multiple tooth surfaces using the 3D Dentrix Clinical Chart
• Minimize errors and save time taking progress notes with Dentrix Clinical Progress Notes
• Capture detailed periodontal metrics and view them graphically or numerically
• Manage your practice from anywhere at any time
• Measure and analyze your practice performance like a business expert with the Dentrix Practice Advisor

• Organize information and create custom reports that make sense for your practice
• Get your entire team working together to meet your practice goals with the Dentrix Daily Huddle Report
• Track patient eligibility and insurance claims in real time
• Send statements with just a few clicks

2. Dentrix Ascend  

Combining advanced business, practice management, and clinical tools into a single easy-to-use interface, it’s only fitting that Dentrix Ascend has won the hearts of many dental professionals.

Unlike the traditional Dentrix, Dentrix Ascend is a fully cloud-based system, which means you can store your files offsite and access them wherever you are. Plus, it has a completely new interface and workflow.  

Why Choose Dentrix Ascend?

• Streamline patient check-in and checkout
• Monitor the status of each patient in the clinic using the Patient Router
• Let new and existing patients book their appointments conveniently – even when your clinic is closed
• Deliver high-quality dental images immediately to all of your providers
• Customize patient charts by adding procedures, conditions, and clinical notes
• Create a dental treatment plan chart quickly with built-in templates and descriptions
• Simplify billing, payments, and insurance

3. tab32

A cloud-based, data-driven software for dental practices of all sizes, tab32 prides itself on providing state-of-the-art dental care while streamlining practice management at the same time.

Users can’t get enough of the teledentistry and imaging options the platform offers, as well as its highly customizable features and learning management system that empowers everyone in the dental team.

Why Choose tab32?

• Deliver comprehensive care across the care continuum with its patient-first approach
• Engage more patients with two-way text support
• Reduce the number of no-shows with automated reminders and confirmations
• Make it easy for patients to book and consult online
• Manage in-house membership and payment plans with ease

4. Dovetail

While it’s suitable for just about any device, Dovetail is primarily designed for mobile use.  

This makes it especially ideal for smaller, high-tech practices that plan to go completely paperless, or completely mobile even. Process payments from an iPad or any tablet? Yes, you can!  

Why Choose Dovetail?

• Boost clinical productivity and business efficiency with well-designed digital workflows and automated tasks
• Access your practice from anywhere in the world with your phone, tablet, or computer
• Type, write, draw, or use voice to create your medical notes
• Have your patients do everything online – book an appointment, fill out their medical history, and make payments
• Automatically schedule follow-up appointments to increase retention

5. Open Dental

Another dental practice software you’ll want to consider is Open Dental. This open-source, server-based software solution has been generating a lot of buzz in the dental industry, and we can totally see why: it offers a wide array of practice management and treatment tools for dental practices of all sizes!

Why Choose Open Dental?

• Charting made painless thanks to its hands-free 3D charting feature
• Leverage eServices such as electronic prescriptions and integrated texting
• Create an unlimited number of highly customizable treatment plans
• Validate insurance claims automatically and get notified of any missing information  

• Give patients the freedom to fill out their forms prior to their appointment

6. Denticon

Developed by Planet DDS, Denticon is a comprehensive dental software solution that offers all the features and functionality your practice needs to work more efficiently.  

Whether you have a single office, a dental group, or a 300+ location DSO, Denticon has the solutions to help take the weight off your shoulders. Oh, and it happens to be the first ever cloud-based software for dental practice management!

Why Choose Denticon?

• Centralize, standardize, and streamline everything with its intuitive cloud-based tools
• Create and keep a single patient and provider record in the cloud
• Offer a better patient experience with faster appointment bookings, online patient portals, and seamless direct billing
• Access records anytime 24/7
• Reduce day-to-day repetitive tasks for your team so they can focus on more important, patient-centered tasks

7. iDentalSoft

iDentalSoft is mostly known for its 100% paperless practice management, removing the hassle of handling documents. It’s simple, smart, and eliminates the need for expensive servers.

Reviewers are impressed with the software’s seamless data migration for new users, as well as its ability to help dentists manage their online reputation. IDentalSoft also offers unlimited one-on-one training that incurs no extra charges.  

Why Choose iDentalSoft?

• Document treatment progress with clinical notes that can be signed and locked by providers
• Upgrade your charting experience with stunning, interactive charts that can be compared and overlayed to show changes and progress
• Manage your schedule efficiently with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface
• Easily see everything you need to know about your patients, from their profile and history to medical alerts
• Allow your patients to pay online wherever they are
• Have your patients self-check-in using an office kiosk

Let Us Help Your Dental Business Grow Further

While you can trust the best dental practice software to help you oversee your day-to-day office operations and provide high-quality patient care, it can’t help you promote your business online.  

Fortunately, you have online marketing agencies like Digital Resource to take care of that for you. Having partnered with dental practices of all sizes across the United States, we know everything it takes to get you ahead of the competition.  

Getting your website to rank in Google’s first page, gaining a huge social media following, and retaining your existing patients through email – these are just some of the things we can do to give your dental practice a push.  

Learn the rest by booking a free consultation with us!