

Look for something that simplifies scheduling by coordinating dentist, hygienist and patient schedules and that doesn’t require back office staff to fast forward through six calendar months every time they need to book a patient out.ĭental billing software helps the practice in maximizing revenues through effective coding support, which simplifies billing as much as possible.

Although standalone imaging software does exist, combining it with the EDR software facilitates integration, which is why most vendors offer both capabilities as a combined unit.

Often dental imaging software programs also offer advanced features like measuring a tooth or identifying a particular region of interest, too. The idea here is to import X-rays and other digital images, immediately connecting them to the patient, and present them in a way that makes sense to the dentist (i.e., the same order as the graphical tooth chart). Commonly used templates might include routine exams, fillings, root canals, crowns, tooth extraction or any number of customizable templates. Text-based templates should be present for all common procedures, and the EDR should let you add a template quickly in the event that an emergency procedure is required. Any changes made to text-based templates should be reflected in the graphical tooth chart, and vice versa. They’ll also have features to deal with patient scheduling, billing and coding support, patient education modules, and often a Web portal for patients, all of which maximize the efficiency of the front and back office staff.Īs you search for dental practice management software, consider the following key features and functionality: Graphical tooth chartingĭentist software should have a simple graphical depiction of each tooth and gum that makes it easy to identify caries, fillings, veneers, crowns, missing teeth, gum problems and any other relevant issue. While there may be nuanced differences, generally all three terms refer to software that manages the charting and management of a patient's clinical information.Īs a rule, effective dental office software will have: templates specifically designed for dental practices tooth and gum graphics and an ability to import and organize X-rays. These challenges make it that much more important to use dental software that manages patient data, images and practice information.Īlthough the terms dental electronic medical records (EMR), dental electronic health records (EHR) and electronic dental records (EDR) can have different meanings, the terms are often used interchangeably. Often, routine visits turn into more in-depth procedures, and the ability to manage these changes and the associated information can have a big impact on the time spent caring for your patient, and the quality of care you provide. Most appointments are scheduled several months ahead of time and require coordinating patient schedules and information with two different types of practitioners: dentist and hygienist. What Is Dental Practice Management Software?Ĭommon Features of Dental Practice Management Softwareĭentists have a unique challenge in the medical community.

We've created this guide to help prospective dental software buyers better understand the benefits dental solutions can offer. Common applications and modules of dental software include: As you just saw, dental software is designed to streamline the workflows of dental practices to help improve not only efficiency, but also patient care.
