Open-Dent Dental Office Records & Management Software

Open-Dent, a GNU dental practice management software package, was developed by Jordan S. Sparks. Dr. Sparks is a dentist in Oregon. Open-Dent was developed as a low cost alternative to the many very expensive dental management software packages. Open-Dent also addresses several limitations imposed by the existing commercial software. Open-Dent can be purchased as a compiled version with support for only $139/month, which can be thousands less than its commercial competitors. The Open-Dent source code is also freely available for anyone to compile themselves and use for free.

Open-Dent's user interface rivals that of its leading competitor, Dentrix. Dentrix is one of the most widely used practice management software packages. Dentrix's goal, as stated on their website, 'Dentrix's early vision of a completely paperless, front deskless office is coupled today with a strong commitment to developing the tools necessary to boost productivity and improve efficiency. As the world's leading practice management software provider, Dentrix is striving to develop products that meet the evolving needs of every dental office.' http://www.dentix.com





Open-Dent is taking this goal one step further and making a more reliable, robust, and cost effective software package. This is being achieved in a number of different ways:

1. MySQL Database: One of the most powerful and stable database systems, MySQL gives you all of the features of database systems costing thousands.
2. .NET Framework: The future of Windows is based on .NET. This will be the most advanced and reliable Windows version yet.
3. Open-Source: Anyone is allowed to support / build onto open source software. You do not get stuck with one vendor whom can dictate their prices.
4. Interoperable: ALL of your data is easily available to any other programs / systems that you may be running. These can include programs to analyze results, confirm appointments by email, etc.

• E-Claims: Sent in X-12 format which is the standard defined by HIPAA. Open-Dent is the only dental software known to submit E-claims in this format as all of the other software vendors want to lock you into using their clearinghouse which then converts the data into X-12. Open-Dent claims are already processed in this format and thus you have your choice of any major clearinghouse.
• Imaging: 'The Open-Dent images module is a basic tool for scanning, importing, cropping, and storing images. This area can also be used to store scanned in documents from the patients paper record.'
• Recall: Once patient recall is set up, recalls are automatically calculated for every procedure defined as needing a recall. From the automatically generated recall list you can print postcards, make phone calls, send emails, etc.
• Mail Merge: You can mail merge to MS Word. It is possible to do this for a single letter or letters for multiple patients selected from a database query. The mail merge function can actually be linked directly to the patient database removing any need to export and then import.
• Custom Query: Advanced users will appreciate the functionality to write any report, view it in any format, and export any data that you want from the database. The data is viewable in human-readable, not raw, format.
• Prescriptions: Common prescriptions can be printed with only a few clicks. Others or deviations can be easily entered. Printed prescriptions prevent many of the problems associated with the Doctor's handwriting.
• HIPAA: 'Open Dental is completely HIPAA compliant, with all privacy concerns being addressed. Open Dental uses CDT-4 codes exclusively, it uses the ADA 2002 claim form, and the electronic claims are sent to the clearing house in a HIPAA compliant format.'http://open-dent.com/manual/hipaa.html