Dentrix Ascend Software

Ascend is Great

Before Dentrix we were a six office company, with six individual servers. They had no ability to communicate/share patient info. So we operated like six small offices. Ascend has allowed us to operate as one company, with six offices. For anyone looking to have a firm grasp of the business side of your business, Ascend is the software for you.

Pros

Ascend is easy to use, and very reliable. The reporting capabilities go above and beyond what you need, especially if you are a multi-location operation. And the fact that it is cloud based means you don't need to invest in servers or a lot of infrastructure. All you need is an internet connection.

Cons

Only small drawback is there is no lab case management feature, yet.

Great Practice management system

Pros

Clean software package without the "mess" of traditional server based softwares. No upgrade headaches, easy access wherever you are, and a steady pace of additional development. Also very good support.

Cons

Still growing some functions and connections to other software tools.

Better than some, but needs more work

I like that updates are somewhat frequent & it seems as though the developers really are pushing to make it a great system. However, it is apparent that the developers have not spent much time behind the scenes in a dental office. Some of the updates seem incomplete and/or rushed and we end up with more problems than solutions. I am still optimistic and hope that more updates and features are coming in the very near future!

Pros

It is nice to not have to worry about a server with a cloud based system. The imaging is impressive and easy to use. In time & with updates, Dentrix Ascend will be a great program.

Cons

Having to refresh Ascend multiple times throughout the day is stressful. Specifically, when there are changes in the schedule, a user may not see it for 30 minutes or longer because they have not refreshed the page. A cloud based system should always be current. Patient Forms are not something we can use because they can't be customized. Unfortunately, if you choose to use a form, it must go to every patient and you must use the developers content. I really wish the Patient Communications feature were better. I miss not having a way to automatically ask patients for reviews after appointments, it was our best marketing effort & now have no way of doing it. There is no way to send out an email campaign to several patients. An API is so important and it should be a top priority. Not being able to utilize 3rd party software or even customize what we are able to use in Ascend leaves us in an uncomfortable position. There are several aspects of various items missing or incomplete that are common sense in all other practice management software.

How did we ever get along without Ascend?

This software is modern, intuitive, and ten thousand leaps forward from other software that was developed in the 90’s. The fact that it is growing and improving every few months, based on what clients want is amazing. I can’t say enough good things about this program.

Pros

Easy to navigate.
You can get anywhere you need to go in the program from every screen, and each person can find the path that works best for them.
Makes tasks such as submitting insurance claims, signing charts, and treatment planning easy.

Cons

It is still growing, so some functions such as medical billing isn’t available yet, but Ascend is growing so quickly these things are being added.

Owner

Moved from both CURVE and G4 --- upgrade to both...

Pros

Cloud based, use on mobile devices, data available (report writer could be easier),

Cons

To many clicks to accomplish tasks, report writer is not easy (need meta data), communication out of office is lacking, need to be able to link collections (timing), to original production day (ie lagged analysis), need reports on utilization of ops

Clinician Friendly

Pros

Ascend makes it so easy to chart existing and proposed treatment. The best I have used, by far.

Cons

There seem to be some features that are offered in other versions of Dentrix that are not possible in Ascend. One example is the ability to check the EPSDT box on the dental claim form.

Dentrix Review

It is ok... it gets the job done sometimes, not always.

Pros

patient's chart is easy to read and complete

Cons

Reporting is horrible. Not able to pull in fields that we need

Love all features of Ascend!

Pros

Easy to use, always has the best updates, support always quickly answers your questions and resolves any issues we might have---if they don't know they find out and get back to you fast!

Cons

No cons as of right now. We have been using Ascend since June and now have 6 of our locations on board. Things that have been some what of a con are things that will be implemented soon! (One thing is sending out patient letter electronically, statements electronically, pin board etc.)

Review

Pros

I like that you do not need a server and can access from anywhere with internet access.

Cons

I do not like that you cannot verify insurance eligibility within the software. Also, that the radiographs are automatically charged to the ledger and the imaging software is not more versatile.

Ascend is a great platform for many practices, especially those with multiple practices

pretty good, Always improving. I'd like them to fix the couple cons but I feel like they will over the next year.

Pros

Shared database between both offices.
Easy to learn
Modern
Always adding functionality.

Cons

Missing API
Missing customizable paperless form.

Work in progress

It was not a change I wanted to make, I felt like I had to fight very hard to have Dentrix help me with the things that you knew how to do and didn't want to help me achieve. I am now starting to like what is being developed and I have faith that as Dentrix continues to improve that we will have a software that we are able to utilize for ever

Pros

I like that there is an overall flow that can be created with different customizable features for what works for our office.

Cons

The intricacies of certain features seem unnecessarily complicated. Our office is very large and there are minimal people who seem to be trained to understand how to help us achieve what we are looking for on a larger level

Excellent move from server-based Dentrix

Before using Ascend, we were constantly having server and networking problems. There was no telling what morning we would come in and have a problem accessing our PMS. It happened so frequently that when we finally had our server crash, we jumped on the opportunity to upgrade to a cloud based program. Although using Ascend is a complete change from using Dentrix, we became familiar with the new program within a few weeks and have never looked back! It was the best choice we ever made!

Pros

I love that the software makes regular updates that I don't have to download and apply myself. The ease of having our program available on different devices like an iPad makes it extremely convenient. Ascend is highly user friendly, if you can use a webpage, you can use the program. I also love not ever having to worry about an access problem when I have an issue with the server!

Cons

There are some features not available. There aren't as many options to change settings for individual practices as there are in server based programs. It was difficult to get used to using only one module at a time; ie: I can't have the ledger open on one person and look the chart at the same time.

Getting there

There are still a lot of little things that need to be tweaked, but overall good software.

Pros

Customization of reports - I really like that I can include/exclude exactly what I want.

Cons

Not as userfriendly - certain screens take a long time to load and popups don't go away quickly. Lots of extra clicking.

It's ok

So far, it has a very large learning curve and my experience has been frustrating but hoping for a better result overall. They do listen, though, and are trying to implement newer features.

Pros

It is pretty to look at and they do a lot of updates

Cons

For how large the software is and how long they have been around, they are not that user friendly, are quite restrictive in what a user can and cannot do.

We came back to Ascend after 3 years

we were loosing out with paying doctors on production and doing tons of adjustments- The Line item accountant solved our issue - we had to change the way we pay our doctors was having a tough time following offices on VPN and now have to see all offices in one area is just great !

Pros

The ease of seeing all offices for our centralization
line item accounting
love the dash board

Cons

the clinical notes and xrays and tx plan is not the same as dentrix

COO

Training and on boarding of new locations to the DSO is heavily dependent on our internal resources and needs to be on the Ascend side. Support is overall responsive and good. The intent and efforts are good, but still some programming and developing needs are not being met. But, I am confident it is coming.

Pros

As a DSO having all of the location with one software to view data with ease. Daily user experience is overall very good.

Cons

Ascend is still missing some important operational features. Such as estatement, everify of insurance to name a few. Also, some reporting logic is not logical for a DSO.

Not Recommended

We spend the majority of our time trying to figure out how this system works. It does not use best practices that have been established by other larger PMs such as Dentrix and Eaglesoft.

Pros

We love the cloud based setup. Like the dash board when logging in. It is an easy layout to understand.

Cons

Unable to run a month-end process to lock down collections and productions. This causes reports to change over time.

Dentrix Ascend has worked really well for our office

We have had very little trouble - fits the way we run our practice really well. The only real problem has been not being able to chart what we would like on the visual chart.

Pros

We like that it's web based and easy to access from anywhere. It allows me to easily help patients when we may be out of the office.

Cons

I do wish it were more flexible and allowed more individual adjustments - particularly with charting.

Dentrix Ascend Review

The reports for us are really growing and just learning how to build them are super useful to our office

Pros

cloud based and that I can work both of our locations at the same time

Cons

waiting for new changes and for the software to grow

Great product

Okay. It works

Pros

Cloud based makes it easy for me to access away from the office

Cons

Reports are confusing The interactive part is especially difficult to use