Best Dental Practice Management Software + Top Benefits

As a dental practice deciding between practice management software, you want to choose a solution that takes the hassle out of tedious tasks that are most critical to the practice, such as online booking and payments.

NexHealth modernizes dental office management by automating every aspect of a practice’s patient engagement, including scheduling the first visit, sending reminders, and digitizing forms, all the way to sending a recall message. In this article, we will be discussing how patient-centric dental practice management software can help you manage your practice effectively.

• Overview of dental practice management software
• 4 benefits of using dental practice management software
• Common features of dental practice management solutions
• 5 best dental practice management solutions with online scheduling for patients
• 5 best dental practice management software to run your office
• 5 things to ask yourself when purchasing dental practice management software

Let us start by understanding what dental clinic practice management software is and how you can get the most out of it, before looking at some of our top picks.

Overview of dental practice management software

Dental practice management software is meant to simplify the day-to-day running of your practice and improve administrative efficiency. They connect with your existing EHR system to enhance the overall patient experience, securely store patient dental records, and offer better clinical communication.

Since medical practice management software work in tandem with other vendors, it is important that the software you choose integrates with the multiple systems that your practice uses to give your patients a seamless experience. NexHealth’s bidirectional integrations eliminate the need for any manual data entry, allowing you to automate patient communication and enhance your workflow processes.

4 benefits of using dental practice management software

Having a patient-centric approach when evaluating dental software can help with creating a modern patient experience and improving clinical efficiency. Let us look at the top 4 benefits of using dental practice management software to run your day-to-day activities with ease:

• Automate time-consuming tasks: Repetitive tasks like booking appointments, sending appointment reminders, and sending after-care surveys can be set up to go out at the right time automatically.‍
• Reduction in no-shows and cancellations: When your patients get a reminder from your practice about their appointment well in advance, there is a smaller chance that they’ll miss it compared to if they had to rely on their memory to make it to the appointment.‍
• Maintain updated and accurate patient records:  Dentists must adhere to HIPAA guidelines while storing and sharing patient information, making it extremely important to have it all in one software system that can be accessed securely from multiple devices.‍
• Better patient engagement: Apart from just sending appointment reminders, there are a plethora of opportunities for practices to engage with and educate their patients about building healthy habits, selling their products, and inviting them to webinars and events.

Use NexHealth to improve practice management and schedule more patients!

Common features of dental practice management solutions

Today there are a number of dental and medical practice management software solutions on the market that are looking to set themselves apart from their competition. But there are some common features that all of them offer, as most dental practices find them crucial to providing an uninterrupted digital patient experience. Let us look at what these features are:

• Appointment reminders: You can set multiple automatic reminders (either SMS or email) to go out to your patients before their appointments.‍
• Online self-scheduling: Patients can book their appointment at their convenience and don’t have to rely on office hours or call the front office to schedule their visit.‍
• Reputation management: Practices can keep track of their online reviews and address them without any delay, as they understand how critical they are to grow their practice.‍
• Online patient intake: Patients can fill out their details with ease online. This information gets stored in the system without any manual data entry.‍
• Calendar Integrations: Doctors can sync their Google Calendars, iCal, or Outlook calendars with the software for the patients to book their appointments.‍
• Online payments: Patients can conveniently and securely pay for their visits online just like they would when purchasing something from an e-commerce website.‍‍
• Analytics dashboard: To better understand your customer behavior and improve their experience, getting insights on no-shows, recalls, and office scheduling can help you manage your practice based on real data, taking the guesswork out.

5 best dental practice management solutions with online scheduling for patients

According to a 2018 Black Book Market Research survey, 83% of patients considered digital scheduling, online payment options, engagement capabilities, and result reporting tools as the four most important factors while choosing their next healthcare provider. Practice management solutions that allow patients to self-book appointments online give patients the ability to book appointments when they are free, after their working hours.

Let us look at some of the leaders in this market and help you choose the best software for your needs.

1. NexHealth

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Image Credit: NexHealth

‍Cost: Contact for quote

Best for: Acquiring new patients and modernizing the patient experience

As a real-time patient booking platform, NexHealth delivers an end-to-end digital patient experience to modernize your practice. With a strong focus on acquiring new patients and retaining your existing ones, NexHealth is a powerhouse of tools that can help you achieve this goal faster, deploy new products within no time, and save valuable staff time.

Top features:

• Online scheduling and reminders
• No shows and cancellations
• Virtual waitlists
• Email and text marketing
• Dashboard to view practice analytics and multiple KPIs

See how NexHealth compares to these solutions:

• NexHealth vs LocalMed
• NexHealth vs PatientPop
• NexHealth vs Solutionreach
• NexHealth vs Zocdoc
• NexHealth vs Simplifeye
• NexHealth vs Weave
• NexHealth vs RevenueWell

2. iDentalSoft

Image Credit: identalsoft

‍Cost: Contact for quote

Best for: One-click treatment plans that can be presented chair-side

iDentalSoft is a comprehensive dental practice management solution that is 100% paperless. Practices can access all their patient information from anywhere on any device, and the experience can be customized based on your needs.

Top features:

• Smart scheduling
• Intuitive charting and native imaging
• Integrated EDI for eClaims and Eligibility (Dental & Institutional Claims)
• ePrescribe Integrations
• Implant tracking

3. MOGO

Image Credit: MOGO

‍Cost: $250/month

Best for: Send your data for a no-cost, no-obligation data evaluation

MOGO is a cloud-based and HIPAA-compliant dental practice management software that caters to general and specialist dental practices. MOGO users have access to unlimited tech support and online training modules specifically tailored to their staff’s needs.

Top features:

• Appointment booking and eReminders
• Treatment and payment history
• Online patient forms
• Staff time tracking
• Patient eSignature

4. Dentrix

Image Credit: Dentrix

‍Cost: Contact for quote

Best for: The Daily Huddle Report gives a snapshot of the previous day’s performance

Dentrix’s practice management software seamlessly connects with all your existing tools, making it easy to manage one platform for everything. Practices have access to Dentrix’s resource center that allows you to participate in free webinars, on-demand virtual events, and other learning guides to improve your skills to grow your practice.

Top features:

• Online scheduling
• E-prescribing
• e-Claim submissions and online payments
• Training and staff education

5. Legwork

Image Credit: Legwork

‍Cost: Contact for quote

Best for: Digital healthcare marketing that helps practices be discovered online

Specifically designed for the healthcare industry, Legwork is a marketing growth platform that helps practices map out and deliver better patient experiences. Practices can get assistance with website design, SEO, blog, and social media campaigns, along with automating their front office operations.

Top features:

• Online appointment booking and reminders
• Search marketing
• Teledentistry
• Referrals and patient reviews

5 best dental practice management software to run your office

A bad digital experience with a healthcare provider can ruin the entire experience with the practice. Retaining patients will come down to offering the best patient experience possible, which can be facilitated by efficient practice management solutions.

Here’s our list of the top five dental practice management softwares that can set apart an efficient practice from a disorganized one.

1. tab32

Image Credit: tab32

‍Cost: Contact for quote

Best for: Teledentistry

Tab32 works as a complete cloud dental software that has functionalities for practice management, patient communication, and dental imaging. As a solution, tab32 is fit for solo, multi-location, and DSOs, allowing practices to access their data from anywhere on any device.

Top features:

• Patient communication via two-way text messaging and VOIP
• Online appointment confirmations and reminders
• eClaims
• Imaging studio
• Practice analytics dashboard

2. Curve Dental

Image Credit: Curve Dental

‍Cost: Contact for quote

Best for: Uptime performance excellence is 99.99%

Curve Dental promises efficiency and security, which lets you focus on providing the best care for your patients and growing your business. As a SaaS solution, Curve Dental hosts your practice’s data making it available at any time and from anywhere in the world.

Top features:

• Personalized patient engagement
• Real-time intelligent dashboards
• Multiple short training videos for your staff
• Native digital Imaging

3. ClearDent

Image Credit: ClearDent

‍Cost: Contact for quote

Best for: Improve upon day-to-day inefficiencies to increase profitability

ClearDent is a Canadian dental practice management solution that has interactive onboarding and provides support for data conversion. As a paperless solution, ClearDent looks to modernize your practice, minimize day-to-day inefficiencies, and let you take full control of your operations.

Top features:

• Online appointment booking and reminders
• Digital imaging and e-charting
• Staff time tracking
• Inventory management
• Billing and online payments
• Patient eSignature

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‍4. OperaDDS

Image Credit: OperaDDS

‍Cost: $99 - $249/month

Best for: Paperless patient intake forms that require zero data entry

OperaDDS is a HIPAA-complaint dental communication software that is suitable for dental practices of all sizes. Practices can make use of tools to effectively communicate internally with their staff and colleagues sitting at different locations and externally with their patients.

Top features:

• Appointment reminders and confirmations
• Case collaborations
• Reputation management
• Secure email that is HIPAA compliant

5. intiveo

Image Credit: intiveo

‍Cost: Contact for quote

Best for: Automated and customizable appointment confirmations

Intiveo is personalized and customizable patient communication software that works for general dentists and specialists whether they have an independent, multi-location, or large healthcare setup. Practices can even send messages in multiple languages.

Top features:

• Recall reminders
• Booking requests
• Reputation management

5 things to ask yourself when purchasing dental practice management software

Choosing the right practice management software for your dental practice is a big decision, as it is not something that you can or want to change frequently. It also affects all the stakeholders in your practice: your staff, vendors, affiliate clinics, and patients.

Here are some considerations to keep in mind while evaluating the best software that works for your practice:

1. Does it integrate with my current software systems?

The practice management software system you get will need to integrate with the EHR system that you are currently using. Ensuring compatibility allows your practice to keep doing things how you typically would, gaining the benefits of a practice management solution. NexHealth has partnered with open-source and closed softwares to offer unparalleled integrations with EHRs.

2. Will it improve your efficiency and help you acquire patients?‍

Any solution you get should improve your team and your patients’ experience, make doing tasks easier, and improve the efficiency of your practice as a whole. Most practice management solutions automate a variety of repetitive tasks, including scheduling and patient communication. The best solutions allow your patients to schedule their own appointments online outside of your office hours, helping you acquire patients when it’s most convenient for them to book!

3. Will your patients adopt the solution?

When considering a solution for managing your practice, you need to consider what your patients will want - and what they are capable of. There are some patients that may struggle to adapt, and will still need to use more traditional methods of interacting with your practice. However, most modern patients want the ability to book appointments online in their free time, as patients typically work during the hours your office will be operating.

4. Is the solution easy to use and do they offer good customer support?‍

As these solutions need to work with your EHR, installation and setup may be complicated and time-consuming. Customer support may also be unreliable. NexHealth offers guided support during installation, and gets you set up and operational in just two weeks! They also have responsive, helpful customer support.

5. Is the solution worth the cost?‍

Ultimately, the solution you purchase will come down to what you are willing to spend for the features you need and want. When comparing, keep in mind that complete patient experience solutions come with you and the patient in-mind, and are suited to save your practice time and effort while growing your practice for you. A solution like NexHealth allows you to have a receptionist available 24/7, as you can accept patient bookings anytime online, easily paying for itself in acquired patients and time saved managing your practice.

Improve practice efficiency and production with NexHealth

There is no debate that digital technology is reshaping the administrative and clinical landscape, changing how practice management is conducted. Offering a seamless, technology-driven patient experience is essential for acquiring patients and growing your practice. Beyond attracting new patients, NexHealth’s patient experience solution is designed to retain existing patients by offering incredible service!

Learn how NexHealth can help your team operate more efficiently with a free demo.

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