Moving your practice management software is a major undertaking that often brings a mix of excitement for new features and anxiety about potential data loss. When you decide to switch Curve Dental to Open Dental, the most important thing to remember is that while your core clinical and financial data will move, your workflow will change, and you should plan for a period of adjustment for your entire team.
What Converts and What Doesn't
It is vital to understand that a data conversion is not a "mirror image" move. Because Curve Dental is a cloud-based, proprietary system and Open Dental is a server-based, open-architecture system, they store information differently.
Typically, the following data converts successfully:
- Patient Demographics: Names, addresses, phone numbers, and insurance subscriber information.
- Appointment History: Past appointments and basic scheduling data.
- Procedure History: Completed procedures and clinical history.
- Account Balances: Current patient and insurance balances.
- Insurance Plans: Basic plan structures and coverage details.
- Clinical Notes: These usually convert, but formatting may vary.
What typically does NOT convert:
- Custom Reports: Any specialized reports you built in Curve will need to be recreated using Open Dental’s Report Setup or custom queries.
- Letter Templates: Your custom patient communication templates will need to be manually copied into the
Lettersarea of the Manage Module. - Preferences and Settings: Your specific office defaults, clinical auto-notes, and user permissions must be manually configured in Open Dental.
- Proprietary Image Formats: While X-rays and images are usually moved, they may need to be imported into the Imaging Module in a specific way. Always discuss your imaging needs with the conversion team early.
The Conversion Timeline
A realistic timeline for a successful migration is 4 to 8 weeks. Rushing this process is the most common cause of post-go-live stress.
- Initial Inquiry and Data Extraction: Contact the Open Dental conversion department to discuss your specific data set.
- Test Conversion (Free): The team will perform a test migration of your data. This is your most important step. You must spend 2–4 weeks reviewing this test data in a sandbox environment to ensure clinical notes, balances, and insurance plans look correct.
- Final Conversion: This typically takes about 3 hours. Your office will be "down" for this period, usually scheduled over a weekend or a day the office is closed.
- Post-Conversion Setup: You are entitled to a 2-hour setup session with an Open Dental trainer to help you configure your defaults and ensure your team is ready for the first day.
Cost Breakdown
Open Dental is known for its transparent pricing, but you should budget for the following:
- Conversion Fee: This is a one-time fee that varies based on the complexity of the data being moved from your previous software (typically $500–$2,000+).
- Monthly Fee: As of early 2026, the cost is $179/month for the first 12 months, then $129/month. There are no per-provider fees, which is a significant departure from the subscription models of cloud-based competitors.
- Imaging: If you have a large volume of images, there may be an additional fee for the specialized work required to map those files into the Open Dental Imaging Module.
What Will Surprise You
Even with a perfect conversion, you will encounter differences that catch you off guard:
- The Interface: Curve Dental is designed for a web browser. Open Dental is a Windows-based application. It looks and feels like a traditional desktop program, which takes a few days to get used to.
- Manual Configuration: You will be surprised by how many "defaults" you took for granted. You will need to manually set up your Appointment Module views, your default procedure codes, and your billing statements.
- Reporting: You will likely find that the exact report you used in Curve doesn't exist by the same name in Open Dental. You will need to explore the Reports menu to find the equivalent, or learn to use the Query Generator for custom data pulls.
Your First 30 Days
Focus on these priorities immediately after your go-live:
- Verify Balances: Run the "Aging of A/R" report in the Account Module and compare it against your final reports from your previous software.
- Set Up Auto-Notes: In the Chart Module, start building your clinical auto-notes to speed up charting.
- Configure Insurance: Ensure your insurance plans are correctly attached to patients and that your "Insurance Plan" settings in the Family Module are accurate.
- Train on the Scheduler: Spend time in the Appointments Module mastering the "Pinboard" and "Wait List" features.
Once you're on Open Dental, DentalCanvas gives you the visual analytics dashboard that your previous software never had — and that Open Dental doesn't include.
This article is provided by opendentalsupport.com, an independent community resource. We are not affiliated with Open Dental Software, Inc.