Finding Incomplete Procedure Notes

If you are struggling to keep up with clinical documentation, this open dental incomplete notes query will help you identify exactly which procedures are missing notes. It is a vital tool for office managers and clinical leads to ensure every completed procedure has a corresponding note for compliance and billing accuracy.

The Query

This query looks for procedures marked as "Complete" (status 2) where the note field is empty or contains only whitespace.

SET @FromDate = '2026-01-01';
SET @ToDate = '2026-04-05';

SELECT 
    p.LName, 
    p.FName, 
    pl.ProcDate, 
    pc.ProcCode, 
    pc.AbbrDesc AS Description,
    pl.ProcNum
FROM procedurelog pl
INNER JOIN patient p ON pl.PatNum = p.PatNum
INNER JOIN procedurecode pc ON pl.CodeNum = pc.CodeNum
WHERE pl.ProcStatus = 2
  AND (pl.Note = '' OR pl.Note IS NULL)
  AND pl.ProcDate BETWEEN @FromDate AND @ToDate
  AND p.PatStatus = 0
ORDER BY pl.ProcDate;

How to Run This Query

1. In Open Dental, go to Reports in the Main Menu.
2. Click User Query.
3. Paste the query above into the large text box.
4. Click Submit Query.
5. The results will display in the grid below.

Understanding the Results

• LName/FName: The patient's name so you know whose chart to open.
• ProcDate: The date the procedure was marked complete.
• ProcCode: The ADA code for the procedure performed.
• Description: A brief description of the procedure code.
• ProcNum: The internal ID for the procedure. You can use this to quickly locate the specific entry in the patient's Chart Module.

How to Customize

You can easily adjust the date range or filter by provider to make the list more manageable.

• Change the Date Range: Modify the dates in the first two lines. For example, to look at last month, change the dates to '2026-03-01' and '2026-03-31'.
• Filter by Provider: If you want to see notes for a specific provider, add this line before the ORDER BY clause:
  AND pl.ProvNum = 1
  (Replace '1' with the actual ProvNum found in Setup > Providers).

Variations

If you want to focus only on high-value procedures or specific types of work, you can add a filter for the procedure code. For example, to only see missing notes for crowns (assuming your crown codes start with 'D27'), add this line:

AND pc.ProcCode LIKE 'D27%'

Skip the Query — Use DentalCanvas Instead

Don't want to write SQL? DentalCanvas connects to your Open Dental database and shows you this data automatically in a visual dashboard — no queries required.

This article is provided by opendentalsupport.com, an independent community resource. We are not affiliated with Open Dental Software, Inc.