Dentrix setup guide
What you need, the seven setup steps, what 2care reads and writes in Dentrix during a call, and how your hygiene recall report gets called.
4 min read
How it connects
2care connects to your Dentrix database. Your practice authorises the connection, and it is scoped to scheduling: operatories, providers, appointment types and the patient details a booking needs.
- Availability is read live at the moment of the call, by operatory and provider.
- Bookings are written into Dentrix during the conversation, so your schedule needs no reconciling afterwards.
- Your configuration is followed as it stands, including the emergency time you deliberately hold back.
Your onboarding specialist sets it up with your team, and your front desk keeps working in Dentrix as before.
Terms used here
- Operatory. A treatment room or chair in your Dentrix schedule, each with its own column of appointments.
- Hygiene recall. The routine cleaning and check-up visits patients are due for at a set interval.
- Held emergency time. Slots you keep free each day for patients in pain or with trauma.
Before you start
| Item | Who provides it |
|---|---|
| Approval from the practice owner or office manager to connect Dentrix | Your practice |
| Your list of providers and operatories, and which hygienists work which days | Your office manager |
| Your appointment types, including how long each one runs | Your office manager |
| The emergency time you hold back each day | Your office manager |
| A signed BAA with 2care | Signed before any patient data moves |
Setup
- Sign the BAA. No patient data is read until it is in place. See HIPAA and the BAA.
- Authorise the connection. Your onboarding specialist walks your team through connecting your Dentrix database.
- Confirm providers and operatories. We match each one to your schedule so a hygiene visit lands in a hygiene chair.
- Map your appointment types. A hygiene visit, an emergency and a long restorative appointment each keep their own length and place. See visit types and provider templates.
- Set your emergency rules. We agree which descriptions go to held emergency time and which go straight to a person.
- Run a test round trip. We book a test appointment, open it in Dentrix, then cancel it, with your team watching.
- Switch the line over. Your number forwards to 2care at the hours you choose. See forwarding your number.
Most practices are live in about 5 business days.
On a booking call
| Step in the call | What the caller hears | What happens in Dentrix |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | A request for their date of birth | The caller is matched to their existing patient record |
| Availability | Open times with the provider or hygienist they asked for | Open time read live by operatory, provider and appointment type |
| Choice | The time they chose, read back | The slot is checked again at the moment of booking |
| Booking | Confirmation of the appointment | The appointment is written into the operatory with the provider |
| Confirmation | A text with the date, time and location | The call record is kept against the patient |
The appointment is only confirmed to the caller once Dentrix has accepted it. If the time was taken in the meantime, the booking is not written and the agent offers the next open time instead.
What 2care reads
- Operatory and provider availability, live at the moment of the call
- Appointment types, from a hygiene visit to an emergency to a long restorative
- Patient records, to match a caller rather than start a second chart
- The recall report, so outbound calling runs from your own overdue list
- Carrier, plan and remaining annual maximum where Dentrix holds them
What 2care writes
- Appointments, into the correct operatory with the correct provider
- Patient contact details, spelled back to the caller before they are saved
- Insurance information as fields, ready for your team to verify before the visit
- Recall outcomes, so the overdue list reflects who was actually reached
- The call record, attached to the patient chart
Every write is traceable and can be undone. Each one records the call that caused it.
What 2care never touches
- Clinical notes, which are never read or written
- Results, which are never retrieved or read out: those calls go to your team
- Medication requests, which are taken down and passed on, never granted or changed
- Anything outside the access your practice authorised
Hygiene recall
Your Dentrix recall report becomes a call list. Patients who are due or overdue are phoned at the frequency you set, offered time with the hygienist they usually see, and booked on that call.
Recall outcomes are written back, so tomorrow's list starts from today's results. Treatment that was accepted but never scheduled can be worked the same way, with the agreed plan talked over on the call. See recall and outreach campaigns.
Questions
Will an emergency get a routine slot?
No. Swelling, trauma and uncontrolled pain are recognised from the caller's description and routed into your held emergency time, or escalated to a person. The agent gives no clinical advice: see how urgent calls reach a person.
Will it create duplicate patient records?
No. Callers are matched against what Dentrix already holds before anything new is created.
Is every call kept?
Yes. Each call is kept against the patient, including recall calls, so you can see who was reached and what they said.
Related
- Dentrix integration overview
- Recall and outreach campaigns
- A booking did not appear
- HIPAA and the BAA
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