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 completed procedures are missing a note. Running this report regularly ensures your charts are audit-ready and compliant without having to manually check every patient file.

The Query

This query looks for procedures marked as "Complete" (Status 2) where the Note field in the procedurelog table is empty or contains only whitespace.

/* Set the date range for the search */
SET @FromDate = '2026-01-01';
SET @ToDate = '2026-04-08';

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 IS NULL OR TRIM(pl.Note) = '')
  AND pl.ProcDate BETWEEN @FromDate AND @ToDate
  AND p.PatStatus = 0
ORDER BY pl.ProcDate DESC;

How to Run This Query

1. In Open Dental, go to Reports in the Main Menu.
2. Click User Query.
3. Paste the query provided 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 last and first name.
• ProcDate: The date the procedure was completed.
• ProcCode: The ADA code for the procedure performed.
• Description: A short description of the procedure code.
• ProcNum: The unique internal ID for this specific procedure. You can use this number to quickly locate the procedure in the patient's Chart Module if needed.

How to Customize

You can easily adjust this report to fit your needs by changing the variables at the top of the query:

• Change the Date Range: Modify the lines SET @FromDate = 'YYYY-MM-DD'; and SET @ToDate = 'YYYY-MM-DD'; to look at a different time period.
• Filter by Provider: If you want to see notes for a specific provider only, add this line to the WHERE clause:
  AND pl.ProvNum = 1 (Replace 1 with the actual ProvNum of the provider).
• Filter by Clinic: If you use Clinics, add this line to the WHERE clause:
  AND pl.ClinicNum = 1 (Replace 1 with the actual ClinicNum).

Variations

If you want to find procedures that have a note, but the note is suspiciously short (perhaps just a placeholder), you can modify the WHERE clause to look for notes with fewer than 5 characters:

/* Variation: Find very short notes */
AND LENGTH(TRIM(pl.Note)) < 5

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.