Regardless of their size and scale, dental practices handle hundreds and even thousands of patient files, complex billing procedures and of course, need to send out those much dreaded reminders to patients about upcoming cleanings and check ups. Automating simple tasks, such as notifying patients of upcoming appointments, can help a practice run more smoothly. Likewise, streamlining record keeping to ensure patient files are both accessible and being stored in accordance with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountable Act) guidelines is critical. For dental practices in search of an affordable cloud-based software solution to handle these tasks and more, Total Dental is an obvious choice.

Total Dental, founded in 2012, is a relative newcomer on the dental practice management software market but one that has already gained many loyal subscribers. First, it is fully certified and available via a monthly subscription. More importantly, total Dental’s EHR (electronic health record) package starts at $199 monthly, making it an option for even small dental practices. Beyond the attractive price point, Total Dental is also appealing to the extent that it offers practices a full suite of tools to help them run a state-of-the-art clinic. Features of Total Dental include practice management applications, electronic record keeping, billing and coding assistance, monitoring applications, and tooth and perio charting. As such, from notifying customers about upcoming appointments to keeping track of billing issues to archiving information about patients’ past dental work, Total Dental’s software has the capacity to support the wide range of work carried out in any dental practice.

• Usability. Total Dental gets top marks for usability with an easy-to-use and intuitive interface and an all-in-one dashboard that seamlessly integrates scheduling with other features.

• Maintainability. Total Dental is a cloud-based dental practice solution and as such, it is subject to regular upgrades, easing maintainability efforts.

• Performance. Total Dental also receives high marks for performance with no reported problems.

• Integration Ease. As an all-in-one system, there is little or no need to worry about integrating Total Dental with existing systems, since it should be able to handle all your practice needs.
• Functionality. Total Dental ranks high in terms of functionality with no reported major problems.

• Support. Total dental offers online support and phone support during regular business hours, as well as free training via online courses and webinars.

Pros

What customers like about Total Dental:

• It is an all-in-one system designed to handle all dental practice needs, including electronic dental health records, dental charting, perio charting, billing, prescriptions, accounts, appointment and calendar management, clinical charting, patient history and planning.
• Total Dental’s interface is up-to-date and intuitive.
• It is HIPAA compliant.
• The company is new but its founders have impressive industry experience.
• It offers a free demo.
• Total Dental provides online and phone support as well as free training to new subscribers.
• It is affordable (with packages starting at $199 per month).

Cons

What clients do not like about Total Dental:

• Some customers worry about the fact that it is entirely cloud-based (e.g., for security reasons).
• As a relative newcomer, its track record of supporting dental practices is shorter than that of many other dental software providers.