Dentrix Ascend Software

I loved how knowledgeable Steven was and I enjoyed the conversation we had while going over the software. He was very helpful with laying out everything I needed to look at when researching cloud based software systems.

Pros

User friendly - Feels like Facebook; All Claims are included with Ascend; Online booking; Line item accounting, Day Overview.
Long lasting small business.

Cons

Not compatible with Lighthouse 360; No capability to do a mass patient email campaign that can have a design of sorts; Need higher internet speeds; Scanned documents, images & ledger detail may not convert over. Their is no new patient paperwork forms that auto-fill in the patients chart. Kind of pricey compared to other cloud based systems. Dexis Sensors require a Server for Ascend.

Whole experience from start through install and use is professional and helpful

Pros

Excellent support. Well thought out program. Great value for the investment. Seems easy to upgrade which I am looking forward to doing

Cons

Takes a little getting used to, but well worth the effort. Was a little difficult to learn to print insurance claims.

Pros

I love being able to log on from my 2 locations and being able to see the schedule from both offices

Cons

I would like to see improvements in the schedule view; better ledger breakdowns, statements. We're waiting for electronic health history forms

Pros

Integration. I would say Dentrix is hands down the best dental practice management software. It integrates well with the front desk, business and clinical aspects.

Cons

I wouldn't say I had any cons to report regarding the Dentrix Dental Practice Management Software.

It is centralized and a business manager or director can see the entire scope of the patient's status from account aging, to insurance claims status, to clinical particulars.

Pros

includes text reminders, ability to see claims status and follow-ups with insurance, ledger activity and balance is staggered nicely, imaging function and treatment planning is awesome (can obtain bird's eye view from dental chart)

Cons

have experienced glitches and entire days where the software has been completely disabled; not everything saves instantly (has nothing to do with internet speed but speaks to the nature of cloud-based software and, by nature, the downfall of having an offsite server).

Please research this thouroughly before purchasing. Have someone come and do a demonstration that includes office staff, since they're the ones who have to use it!

Pros

The deposit slip is the best thing I have found so far. I regret I'm unable to find anything else. I'm sure there is more but I've yet to experience it.

Cons

It takes way too many steps to print, check out patients, scheule appointments. To change insurance companies for patients is a joke! Too time consuming and confusing!! This is just the tip of the iceberg! Oh yes, recall is from the stone ages!

Our office made the switch from Viive, which itself was a very frustrating piece of software as it would constantly drop connection to the server even after several "fixes" and technical support sessions with both Mac and Viive. I was excited for Dentrix Ascend, being a long-time Dentrix veteran, knowing the power of the Dentrix applications. However, in my experience with Dentrix Ascend so far, it is clear that Ascend is a gutless wonder, especially compared with how powerful Dentrix Proper is (and even Eaglesoft, for that matter!), and as such, is has been an utter disappointment. Full disclosure: I handle the front office/insurance/accounting end of things, so I cannot speak to the clinical end of things. My review is solely of the front office and accounting end of things. Keep in mind it may be delightful for the clinician. I am pleased with the fact that we no longer have to deal with constant server connection fails, so that is nice. But still not enough to make up for Ascend's other shortcomings. My first gripe is that once an insurance carrier is established, you cannot edit the payor ID. And once groups are established under a carrier, you cannot move the groups. This means, if a carrier is set up incorrectly (say, with payor ID 06126 that directs the clearing house to print and mail all claim) with several groups, you have to manually recreate the carrier and each group underneath, which is a cumbersome and time-consuming process. Secondly, with the procedure codes, many of them default to "mouth" for treatment area, even for common codes that virtually every insurance company requires more specific information. If the procedure code is used a single time, you lose the ability to edit even the treatment area. This was a big problem for us, as treatment plans converted over with several codes that are uneditable because they are "in use." We have had to create several "alias" codes, which the clinical side now has to remember to choose. Third, Viive allowed for payment tables under each group (similar to Dentrix Proper and Eaglesoft and several other software options), that would allow any exceptions in payment to be logged for future prediction. This is not the case in Ascend. This was an important Viive feature for us because we participate with an insurance company who calculates payment based on two fee schedules: maximum allowable per provider contract and maximum allowable according to policy contract. With Ascend, you are at the mercy of coverage percentages and cannot account for the two separate yet inseparable fee schedule. I got excited when I saw the "copay" field in the coverage table and spent a large amount of time updating this field for each group, only to find out from technical support that this is not a covered feature. So, ultimately we have had to develop external tools to help us predict patient responsibility. Dentrix Ascend has completely failed us in this area. Finally, we have hit a roadblock with NEA attachments. We are having to continue using Viive because of the inability of ledgers to be transferred over to Ascend (ledgers include open claims). To make a long story short, because we are maintaining a subscription to NEA through Viive in order to be able to keep sending attachments for unresolved claims, we are unable to send attachments through Ascend. Our only options are 1) to terminate our NEA subscription under Viive and print and mail all claims requiring attachments, 2) to manually move treatment over to Ascend and resume claim troubleshooting under Ascend, or 3) print and mail all claims from Ascend requiring attachments. We are probably going to go with option (1), but really, any option is a huge inconvenience. Bottom line, as the numbers and insurance person, I would never recommend this software in its current state. I am a huge Eaglesoft critic, but I would wholeheartedly recommend even that software over Dentrix Ascend. Ascend, you have a long way to go before you will get my vouch.

Pros

Access from anywhere, line-item accounting, some user-defined reports, everything is backed up in the cloud. There is potential.

Cons

Just about everything else: confusing ledger, user-unfriendly insurance setup, inability to edit procedure codes, inability to override insurance payments at a group level and on a procedure code level, NEA attachment failures.

Products serve its purpose. Product used on daily bases for busy dental practice. multi use functions and easily incorporates all of the necessary aspects of dentistry, billing and patient information.

Pros

ease of use

Cons

freezes occasionally

Ascend has potential to be great. No longer do you need an expensive network with IT support. Everything is cloud based which means it can be accessed anywhere...big plus.
The only is the only UI. It needs to be more user friendly and more flexible. It didn't feel like the natural transition from Dentrix G6 at all. When you call for support it almost seems like they are still trying to learn alongside the users.

Pros

Potential to be great

Cons

User Interface
Support
Not Dentrix anyone was expecting

Advice to Others

I would wait to get Dentrix Ascend until the fix the UI and make it more similar to Dentrix Software.

does everything from medical dental kiosk thank you

Pros

does everything

Cons

hard to use hard to train on

Advice to Others

research new versions

..."Because the software is delivered over the cloud, practices don’t have to worry about installing upgrades or maintaining expensive servers"...

Yes, until there is an internet outage as we have seen a few times then everything stops and no work cane be done and patient info cannot be accessed.

Servers are not expensive, and there is a lot to be said for controlling one's own environment and not relying increasingly on multiple layers of 3rd party resources.

Pros

You get used to it after a while.

Cons

A Cloud service
Cumbersome
Slow

Advice to Others

There are better solutions out there. And definitely stick to an "in-house" product - not a Cloud application.

I have worked with Dentrix for almost 9 years. It is a simple program to use

Pros

Easy to work with,

Cons

Management reports are less than desired. It is hard to customize some areas in the charting and notes. There are too many maximums in certain areas such as health HX. Support is not always supportive. I think most read out of a manual as they are trying to help you and take the long way around the barn! We use a different source for e claims and statements.

Advice to Others

Look for a program that supports your office specific needs

I have been using Dentrix in dental practices for the last 7 years. It has a lot of functionality wrapped up into an involved package. Once you are familiar with Dentrix you will find it's potential to be exponential. I often find that onboarding new practices with it have its own challenges. With that being said when asked which Practice Managment Software I would recommend it is alway top three. Lastly, as it is the biggest player on the playground you would think they would invest a little more into their support. If you have the time to wait on the phone, or the experiance to know what your problem is then you can find a solution with their online support. However, if you are unsure of what your problem is or why it is happening it is best to work with an I.T company to work with Dentrix support and even then be prepared for a finger pointing match.

Pros

Integrations, Capabilities.

Cons

Training curve, Support.

Advice to Others

Don't rule Dentrix out as the integrations with other software gives it a monopoly on the market. However, if you are smaller and don't need as many connections you may be better suited looking into some on the newer software's to market.

Dentrix is a great product that allows me to view all of a patients files and see the xray images. We have used a number of software types before but they were too complicated and not as robust as Dentrix. I can see the number of patients each day and the number of patients for the week as well as insurance submissions and claims. Great product ....Bella Normatov, DDS

Pros

Ease of use and easy to teach a staff member

Cons

sometimes slow but usually our server...would be good to know what are the best server and computer requirements.

Advice to Others

Order a demo

Its pretty good sometimes technical errors or difficulty.

I have to use this product everyday, and it is actually the only dental software that I ever had to use. The software is very easy to navigate and understand.

Pros

Easy to use and understand

Cons

I wish there was a way to hide patient names and phone numbers on the appointment book ( or if there is a way I have no figured it out yet :)

Advice to Others

May seem slightly overwhelming at first, but after messing around with the program for a half hour you will be a wiz.

excellent system, easy to learn , very good at keeping everything organized. would recommend to other.

dentrix is a fantastic piece of software relative to use in any dental facility

This is a great system , it is very easy to use/learn.
very good at keeping everything organized. Highly recommended

Dentrix is a very easy program. I use it everyday and never run into any issues. Everything is very easy to understand. I would recommend this program.