What Is Dental Software?
Dental software is a medical application that streamlines day-to-day activities for dental professionals and their clinics. These solutions help you keep your practice running smoothly and process critical information to make it easily accessible.
Dental applications can be sorted by various function types — scheduling, clinical, administration/management and patient communication — but most leading solutions combine these features to provide a comprehensive, integrated platform that handles all aspects of dentistry.
They help clinics efficiently document electronic patient health records and manage administrative processes.
Common modules that dental software provide are:
Deployment Methods
Let's come to deployment. While you’re making a decision on which solution you should buy, consider the type. Dental platforms use both cloud and on-premise deployment modes, each having its own set of pros and cons.
While cloud deployment is the preferred trend in most business software nowadays, it’s still good to know why! Let’s see how cloud and on-premise compare to each other.
On-Premise
With on-premise systems, the host server is stored in-house, or at your practice. The host server runs the platform through computers on a facility’s local network.
In this type of model, you are in complete command of the application’s security, availability and overall management.
However, there are several downsides to the on-premise model. Firstly, it requires expensive hardware, significant investment and lengthy installation hours. Furthermore, on-premise requires additional expenses for IT staff to ensure your data is kept safe at all times.
Cloud
Cloud-based applications, or software as a service (SaaS), can be much more viable due to lower upfront costs. In a cloud setting, the vendor hosts the software on their server, so you don’t have to purchase expensive hardware or manage any aspect of the product yourself.
As the application runs on the provider’s servers, you shouldn’t have to worry about implementing additional security measures. In addition, users can access it from any mobile device and computer with an internet connection.
The cloud model can help dental professionals in a lot of ways. With data backup, security and maintenance all taken care of by the provider, doctors can go about their day without worrying about the state of their digital infrastructure.
Primary Benefits
Now that you’ve decided on purchasing dental software, you need to know the benefits provided by these platforms and how they can help you increase the efficiency of your practice. Without further ado, let's get on with it.
Safeguard Patient Data
Dental software helps your staff create files of new and existing patients and keep their medical history logs. It assists you in staying in line with medical regulations that affirm the protection of patient data at all times.
To that end, the products come with several integrated security measures. These measures not only keep patient data safe but also help you stay accountable for all circulated data.
Minimize Human Errors
Bid farewell to glaring errors creeping into billing, charting, reporting and datasheets. With customizable admin forms, built-in charting templates, and automated reporting and electronic health care claims checks, you can reduce patient encounter errors from start to finish.
Reduce Patient No-Shows
Dental applications can put more of the scheduling power in the hands of patients, allowing them to choose times that work best for them. More patient control can ultimately help reduce no-shows.
Capabilities like online appointment booking and drop-down menus or calendar views for available slots help patients self-select times that work best for them while reducing staff workloads.
Automated appointment notifications further help reduce no-shows by reminding patients of upcoming visits.
Implementation Goals
| Goal 1 Streamline Practice Workflows | Dental software assists in administrative and clinical operations to dental practices. It helps you streamline and automate workflows and flush out any redundancies, keeping processes running smoothly. This software comes equipped with attractive features to facilitate the day-to-day work of clinics, from scheduling to patient management. |
| Goal 2 Simplify Treatment Planning | Dental applications let you access patients’ medical records and treatment plans instantly. They help dental professionals perform quick treatment calculations and provide patients with a precise estimation of service costs. |
| Goal 3 Automate Appointment Reminders | Say goodbye to phone calls for appointment confirmation. Dental management solutions send notifications as reminders to patients before a scheduled appointment. Reminders help reduce no-shows and keep dentists on top of their schedules. On top of that, they can also play an active part in patient recalls by automatically notifying patients when it’s time to schedule their next checkup. |
| Goal 4 Lower Costs | Cloud-based dental software saves your practice a great deal of money upfront. The subscription-based model is beneficial for practices as they don’t bear additional costs for backup, updates and security. Instead, a monthly payment is all that’s needed. SaaS subscriptions can reduce costs related to hardware and IT staffing and help increase your bottom line. |
Key Features & Functionality
| Scheduling | Arrange, control and optimize patient appointments. With dental work, especially in specialized fields like orthodontics, routine visits can turn into more in-depth procedures and might overlap with the next one later in the day. Having a dental solution can save you from this mayhem. You can reschedule appointments to send notifications to patients automatically. |
| Billing & Payment | Accept payments for offered dental services through multiple methods. Enter patient insurance information to automatically verify coverage and make claims. |
| Patient Communication | Provide patients access to their health care plans through a patient portal. Allow them to access their medical profiles and automatically update their health histories after adding new information, saving your practice time and increasing efficiency. |
| Templates | Use custom or ready-made templates for all medical procedures. You can edit pre-existing templates to cater to your organization’s individual needs. There are numerous templates used in dentistry. Among them, tooth extraction, cavity filling and crown insertion are common. |
| Digital Document/Record Management | Store patients’ progress notes, prescriptions and medical histories electronically. Empower your staff to create a profile for a new patient at the front desk with all relevant information. Streamline registration and documentation processes to stay on top of patient data. |
| Data Security | Protect digital patient databases from external threats and hackers with state-of-the-art security measures. Retrieve data quickly in the event of a disaster with secure access to backups. |
| Dental Imaging | Import X-rays and other digital images related to patients with your digital imaging software. Portray data in chart format for a clear breakdown of a patient's dental health. |
| Charting | Record caries, fillings, veneers, crowns, missing teeth and gum problems through graphical representation of the jaw. Make and automatically save chart changes to provide patients with a comprehensive view of any concerning conditions. |
Advanced Features & Functionality
| Hardware Integration | Integrate your dental practice management application with CAD/CAM devices, such as intraoral cameras to streamline work. These peripheral integrations can help you accelerate specific traditional processes and provide patients with an optimal experience. |
| Model Analysis | Model analysis technology helps you determine the alignment of a patient’s teeth and analyze the degree and severity of malocclusion in a patient. |
| Family Module | Quickly access patients’ basic details (name, age, gender, etc.) or click on a patient’s name to add additional notes. Check patients’ statuses and insurance plans and set reminders for patients before appointments. |
| 3D Implantology | Create rapid prototypes, use drill guides for dental implants and produce physical models for prosthodontics. Accelerate the production of copings and frameworks for implant and dental restorations. |
Current & Upcoming Trends
As time progresses, more and more technological innovations are taking place. The influx of cloud-computing, mobile apps and telehealth services open possibilities to advance the dental sector. Let’s take a look at some of the top current and emerging trends in dental software.
Cloud-Based Dental Management Software
One of the trends gaining traction in dental technology is cloud-based practice management solutions. Low maintenance, subscription-based payment and remote access have made cloud-based systems a holy grail for dental practices worldwide.
Cloud products are easily accessible through mobile devices, computers and tablets, making clinical data available anytime, anywhere.
Mobile Apps
Traditional dental care requires seamless mediums of communication in the digital age. Mobile apps help you stay connected with your clinic(s) and staff while on the go.
These apps are efficiently run through smartphones, providing care professionals with easy access to patients’ health information. In addition, they streamline appointment booking and treatment plan processes.
Dental apps are popular as they are easy to use, and patients can download them anytime on their mobile phones.
Teledentistry
With the increase in telemedicine adoption, clinics are capable of delivering virtual medical services. Remote populations and elderly people are largely enjoying the benefits of telehealth systems and telemedicine software.
Teledentistry services are in place to help patients consult dentists to assess their dental problems at a distance. A relatively new field, teledentistry uses communication technologies to set up remote appointments with dentists.
Software Comparison Strategy
Whether you own a small practice or a dental clinic, there are various dental management products available on the market.
We suggest you start contacting peers and clinics who use products and ask about their benefits and disadvantages. Head over to independent review websites that house user reviews for this particular software and check out the unbiased reviews of users already using the solution.
Shortlist products and create a listing of their prices, benefits and features side by side. This way, you will gain critical insights into what the product offers that align with your specific needs.
Following that, you need to check for platform compatibility. Ensuring that the new solution is compatible with your existing systems is essential, especially if you want it to complement your current infrastructure rather than replace it.
It’s advisable to purchase an application that seamlessly embeds into the current workflow, as overhauling your existing systems might cost you a fortune.
Cost & Pricing Considerations
Software pricing is a lengthy and complicated affair. There are several factors you must consider before purchasing a solution.
Product prices vary depending on the deployment model: on-premise or cloud. The cloud model is less costly upfront as a third-party provider hosts the server, and dental practitioners can access it through the internet. It depends on which model fits your needs.
While on-premise models need license purchasing, users are adopting the cloud as they can pay the service fees on a subscription basis. Pay-as-you-go models reduce the initial costs necessary to acquire applications and simplify transitioning to new ones.
Questions To Ask Yourself
One of the critical aspects of success in application purchasing is identifying the underlying gaps at one’s facility. Knowing this can help you make an informed decision about which features you require in the new product.
To help you get started, we’ve shortlisted some questions as a starting point for internal conversations.
- Will I need an additional IT team to maintain the new solution?
- What are the features and functionalities we require from a system?
- Do I need to change my existing systems to accommodate the application?
- Will my employees require additional training to operate the system?
- What’re the key challenges the solution needs to address?
Questions To Ask Vendors
Now that you’ve answered the internal questions, it’s time for you to approach vendors. While approaching vendors, ensure to ask them any queries you may have about the software and the services they provide.
Only if you’re completely satisfied with their response can you move forward with negotiations. Use these questions as a starting point for conversations with vendors.
About the Software
- Does the product come with a user manual?
- Is the software customizable?
- When can I expect updates on the existing OS?
- Is the system challenging to integrate with other platforms?
- How secure is the software?
About the Vendor
- Is your support team active?
- What company sizes are you comfortable working with?
- Do you offer a free trial and demo during implementation?
- Do you have any prior experience catering to other players in my niche?
- How does the solution’s capabilities help companies in my industry?
Next Steps
With several options available on the market, selecting the right dental software can seem a bit overwhelming. The application must be compatible with your existing infrastructure and needs to have relevant features to fill the gaps in your facility.
It’s also important to remember that choosing the right platform is paramount and analyzing everything before purchasing helps you do that. Take your time and scope out everything you need to find out before investing. Ready to get started?
Looking to purchase dental software for your clinic? Check out our comparison report to get a better understanding of the key players out there.
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