Switching to Open Dental for Orthodontists

Switching your practice management software is a significant undertaking that often brings anxiety about data loss and workflow disruption. While no transition is entirely seamless, Open Dental is highly customizable for orthodontic practices, and with proper preparation, you can move your data and establish a more efficient system than you had before.

What Converts and What Doesn't

It is important to have realistic expectations regarding your data. While the conversion team works hard to move as much as possible, the structure of your previous software is rarely a perfect match for Open Dental.

• Typically Converts: Patient demographics, appointment history, procedure history, account balances, insurance plans, and clinical notes (though formatting may vary).
• Typically Does NOT Convert: Custom reports, letter templates, specific preferences/settings, and some proprietary image formats.

Because your old software and Open Dental store data differently, some manual cleanup is almost always required after the conversion. Do not expect your reports to match perfectly on day one; run your historical reports in your old software through the conversion date, and use Open Dental for all data entered from the day after the final conversion forward.

The Conversion Timeline

A typical conversion timeline from initial inquiry to go-live takes between 4 to 8 weeks.

1. Initial Inquiry & Test Conversion: Contact the conversion department to schedule a free test conversion. This allows you to see how your data looks in the Open Dental environment.
2. Review Period (2-4 weeks): Use this time to thoroughly review the test database. Verify that your patient balances, insurance plans, and clinical data are where they should be.
3. Final Conversion (3 hours): Once you approve the test data, you will schedule the final conversion. This process typically takes about three hours.
4. Post-Conversion Setup (2 hours): Your conversion package includes a two-hour setup session with a technician to ensure your database is configured correctly for your practice.

Cost Breakdown

The cost of switching is an investment in your practice's future efficiency.

• Conversion Fee: This varies based on your source software and the complexity of your data, typically ranging from $500 to $2,000+.
• Monthly Fee: Open Dental costs $179/month for the first 12 months, dropping to $129/month thereafter. There are no per-provider fees.
• Imaging: If you need to convert historical scanned documents or images, this is a separate fee based on the volume of data.

What Will Surprise You

Even with the best preparation, a few things often catch offices off guard:

• Interface Adjustment: The interface looks and feels different than your previous software. It will take your team a few days to get comfortable with the new layout and navigation.
• Preference Setup: You will need to re-set all your preferences and defaults. Open Dental is highly customizable, which means you must tell it how you want it to behave.
• Reporting Differences: Some reports you relied on in your old software may not exist in the same format. You will need to find the Open Dental equivalent or use the built-in query tools to get the data you need.

Your First 30 Days

Prioritize these tasks immediately after your final conversion to ensure a smooth transition:

1. Verify Financials: Run the Aging of A/R report in Open Dental and compare it to your final report from your old software to ensure balances match.
2. Enable Ortho Features: Go to Setup > Ortho to enable the Ortho Chart, Auto Ortho tab, and other specialty-specific tools.
3. Set Up Patient Clones: If you offer both general dentistry and orthodontics, use the Patient Clone feature to keep accounting and production separate.
4. Configure Ortho Charting: In the Chart Module, click the Ortho button and then Setup to customize your tabs and fields for your specific clinical workflow.

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.