What are Dentrix Ascend users saying about the software?
Read what people like you have said about using Dentrix Ascend software through verified user reviews
User Review Highlights
4.19
222 Reviews
Ease-of-use
out of 5Customer Support
out of 5Value for money
out of 5Functionality
out of 5"I also love the dashboard, it shows what claims need to be worked on and helps keep the team on track."
"I like the ease of use...meaning it's easy to navigate. Simplified version of their more complex server-based Software."
"The cloud based platform makes for a great integration between multiple locations. The interface is practical and laid out well (once your are adjusted to it)."
"Over billing and taking forever to get refunded, horrible customer service-they treat you badly and are only available short hours for monetary issues. They purposely hang up on you and avoid calls."
"Dentrix ascend is missing some of the key components of traditional dentrix."
"When things are broke or not working minimum 24-48 hours to fix."
Jump to:
Product Overview
Alternatives
Comparison
Browse all Dentrix Ascend Reviews
- Have you used Dentrix Ascend and would like to share your experience with others?
- Write a Review
Sort by
Reviews are by default sorted by Recommended to software buyers, driven by our proprietary algorithm reflecting the depth and quality of the review, recency of experience, and other factors. As a neutral reviews platform, the star rating of the review is not considered in the "Recommended" ranking, and there is currently no voting mechanism that would allow site visitors to influence the ranking.
Showing 1 - 25 of 222 reviews

Krista I.
Verified reviewer
Company size: 11-50 employees
Industry: Medical Practice
Time used: More than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.
April 2020
Good software
Good to fair. I use it at offices when I temp
Pros
I first was introduced to dentrix in dental hygiene school. At the time, It was the only dental software I knew of and felt as though it was pretty easy to use. In hygiene school, you do not use the software to its' best ability because we are limited to what we do w the dental charting, etc. I have used dentrix often during temping and do find it a little confusing, but I seem to manage pretty well with help from staff.
Cons
I am not a big fan of dentrix, I think it can be confusing and non-user friendly at times.
Bevin
Company size: 11-50 employees
Industry: Health, Wellness and Fitness
Time used: Less than 12 months
Review Source: Capterra
This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered
August 2019
Dentrix Ascend review
overall i like the product but correcting the accounting issues is something that is very frustrating and would possibly cause our practice to return to Dentrix
Pros
like that its cloud based and always evolving with updates as users make recommendations to improve. I like that I can access it anywhere.
Cons
I do not like the line item accounting and that credits can not be left on the ledger without affecting provider totals. A/R from previous months changes based on patient over-payments. We have all our fee schedules in and we do write offs at time of service /claim generation but there are still instances where we have over-collected and the only way to have the adjustment for the patient over-payment is to put the EOB in as insurance over-payment which is not accurate or refund the patient directly when the EOB is received, which is not practical
Reasons for choosing Dentrix Ascend
because i liked the cloud based option and the fact that updates are live whenever they are released
Reasons for switching to Dentrix Ascend
we opened a second location
Jesse
Company size: 2-10 employees
Industry: Medical Practice
Time used: Less than 12 months
April 2017
Gutless
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.
Susan
Company size: 2-10 employees
Industry: Hospital & Health Care
Time used: Less than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.
May 2021
Five Stars for Ascend!
Better communication among staff and between the office and patients over all our office has become much more efficient!
Pros
How easy the software is to learn and use. Our staff was very concerned about the transition because we had been using the other software for years and they still had so many problems using it. Ascend is user friendly it’s as easy to use as an app on your phone. I asked the team what they like most and these where their answers: 2 way texting, electronic sending for insurance, reliability, ability to access anywhere, time clock (new), how fast it runs compared to our old system and the amazing reports you can run (daily huddle)
Cons
In the perio charting it would be awesome if there was a way that implants are marked so both charts don't have to be open at the same time.
Reasons for switching to Dentrix Ascend
I studied Ascend for a long time. I watched and read everything I could online I just knew it was the right fit for our staff and office!
James
Company size: 11-50 employees
Industry: Hospital & Health Care
Time used: More than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.
August 2019
Satisfied from the start
We have always been happy with Dentrix Ascend. Our IT needs and budget are a fraction of what they otherwise would be. We can always access and stay up to date with no additional cost or waste of time. Ascend continues to get better and better.
Pros
Intuitive. It has eliminated wasted time and money on training.
Cons
While being next generation technology and cloud based it has been very slow to publish APIs and become operable with so many other businesses that can enhance dental practice management.
Reasons for choosing Dentrix Ascend
It being cloud based eliminated half of the alternative products. Next, the stability and support of HSPS behind Ascend made it a safer and more forward looking product to back. We have not been disappointed.
AMY
Company size: 2-10 employees
Industry: Health, Wellness and Fitness
Time used: Less than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.
May 2021
User friendly
Pros
What I like most about this software is that it is easy to use. It's easy to go from a patient chart to their ledger and back to the schedule. It's also easy to log in from home to view the schedule or to add patient notes remotely. Although there are some features that our staff would like to see added in regards to billing and patient ledgers, overall the pros outweigh the cons with this software.
Cons
The inability to add additional insurance payments when patients' two insurance plans pay more than the amount billed.
Reasons for switching to Dentrix Ascend
The previous practice was using Eaglesoft when our new [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] purchased the practice. Dentrix was being used at his other locations and it was seen as as an opportunity to try the lastest version of Dentrix.
Erica
Company size: 2-10 employees
Industry: Medical Practice
Time used: Less than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.
May 2021
Amazing but could use some improvements
As long as the internet connection is strong, this system is amazing! Very user friendly and easy.
Pros
I love how easy this is to use! We have two dental practices with a lot of patient overlap and this is so much better than our old software. Very user friendly and easy to access from anywhere! I also love the new clock-in/clock-out feature.
Cons
I don’t like how I cannot schedule a recare appointment without completing today’s appointment first. We have our system send texts to leave our office a review once the appointment is completed, so the doctors don’t like to complete them until the patient leaves. I need to schedule the 6 month appointment before they leave or they don’t get scheduled.
Reasons for switching to Dentrix Ascend
We added a second practice and needed a cloud based software.
Matt
Company size: 11-50 employees
Industry: Hospital & Health Care
Time used: More than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.
May 2021
Getting better with every update
Pros
The cloud based platform makes for a great integration between multiple locations. The interface is practical and laid out well (once your are adjusted to it).
Cons
Many updates are still needed, some of which should have been implemented in the first release of the program. Sometimes the program is 'buggy'/slow (we have very fast internet). There should be more options for customization.
Reasons for choosing Dentrix Ascend
It provided the most logical and easy to use interface, it offered a great price since we use Schein as our supplier, and I felt that it would be updated more regularly than other products.
Reasons for switching to Dentrix Ascend
We opened a second office and needed to be able to integrate to a cloud based program.
greg
Company size: 1,001-5,000 employees
Industry: Executive Office
Time used: More than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered
August 2019
Multi-site infrastructure
support, from both my customer success manager, [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN], as well as the tech support team have made the experience of converting to Ascend easy to manage
Pros
ability to report, review, and manage all offices without having to be on site.
Cons
there are many of my current feature requests included in the road map, but currently i would like to see a marketing campaign tool.
Reasons for choosing Dentrix Ascend
the quality of the R&D and product management team with Ascend
Reasons for switching to Dentrix Ascend
to unite all the locations and consolidate reporting for my support team, while creating the opportunity for centralization
Amber
Company size: 51-200 employees
Industry: Hospital & Health Care
Time used: Less than 12 months
Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.
August 2019
Easy to use software
My overall experience with Dentrix Ascend is good - When we find a glitch or would like to see something change, we are able to get help from customer service quickly. I like that Dentrix accepts requests to make changes and prioritizes the requests by how many other companies are requesting the same change.
Pros
What I like most about Dentrix Ascend is that it is easy to use, web based so I can access the program anytime. They have a very good resource and support center to answer any questions I have. I utilize this for training new employees.
Cons
What I like least about Dentrix Ascend is that reports that I run are not consistant. I can run one report that gives me figures/numbers and run a different report for the same criteria and I can get different results.
Reasons for switching to Dentrix Ascend
The company made the switch prior to me joining the team, I am not sure why they made the decision.
Mike
Verified reviewer
Company size: 2-10 employees
Industry: Medical Practice
Time used: Less than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.
May 2021
Dentrix Ascend is a must buy!
Our overall experience has been extremely positive.
Pros
The charting and insurance benefits are the best. It is so user friendly compared to other software we have used.
Cons
Everything that I felt was missing has been added in the last year. I do think that there could be some improvements in the treatment planner.
Reasons for switching to Dentrix Ascend
I wanted something that was cloud based, and Ascend blows Dentrix away with features and ease of use.
EDWARD
Company size: 2-10 employees
Industry: Medical Practice
Time used: Less than 12 months
Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.
August 2019
Dentrix Ascend
Pros
Easy to use. Easy to switch to different screens, not separate modules. Available anywhere, anytime.
Cons
Still has some issues with losing appts.
Reasons for choosing Dentrix Ascend
Better platform, ease of transition.
Reasons for switching to Dentrix Ascend
Cloud based. I would have needed a new server, so time to make switch.
David
Company size: 2-10 employees
Industry: Health, Wellness and Fitness
Time used: Less than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.
May 2021
Getting better
We came from dentrix and i liked the icons across the top to access modules
Pros
Login in from anywhere. Flexibility and always evolving. Didn’t like windows updates
Cons
I would like to customize more, especially medical alerts. I don’t want to be notified unless something major in medical and I don’t want to check don’t ask again
Reasons for choosing Dentrix Ascend
See above
Reasons for switching to Dentrix Ascend
Cloud based, didn’t want to replace server every 7 years
Nicholas
Company size: 2-10 employees
Industry: Hospital & Health Care
Time used: More than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.
August 2019
Great Ascend
Ascend has made it possible to cross train our clinical staff through it’s intuitive design; and this has made our patient turnover very efficient, while reducing the need for addition front desk personnel.
Pros
This software saves countless hours of additional administrative work and processing mistakes. Our office switched from Eagle Soft, which we ran on a closed network, about 5 years ago; and after learning how to use theAscend software, I can honestly say that it was one of the best decisions that we have ever made for our practice.
Cons
There’s nothing that I don’t particularly dislike about the software. However, there is room for improvement with some of the newer features. For example, real time benefits along with automated verification and eligibility would make Ascend the perfect software, in my option.
Switched From
Lacey
Company size: 11-50 employees
Industry: Medical Practice
Time used: More than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.
May 2021
Easy to follow & use
Pros
I like the ease of use...meaning it's easy to navigate. Simplified version of their more complex server-based Software
Cons
I wish the reporting was more like their server-based software
Alternatives Considered
Reasons for choosing Dentrix Ascend
Cloud based
Switched From
Reasons for switching to Dentrix Ascend
Accounting is more difficult in Curve
MIRZA
Company size: 51-200 employees
Industry: Hospital & Health Care
Time used: More than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.
September 2019
Value for Money
Analyzing the accounts receivables ,unscheduled treatment plans ,recare patients,patients portions and so on are some most needed and valuable reports from the power reporting.
Pros
The best thing i like in this software is there user friendly functionality which make it so different and valuable to all.
Cons
Sometimes it get froze so we need to refresh the browser to proceed.
Reasons for choosing Dentrix Ascend
The features in assend are more user friendly and we get new updates too often as per the customer needs.
Reasons for switching to Dentrix Ascend
The features in assend are more user friendly and we get new updates too often as per the customer needs.
Bethany
Company size: 2-10 employees
Industry: Hospital & Health Care
Time used: Less than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.
May 2021
Love Dentrix Ascend
Pros
* Software updates happen automatically at night when we're out of the office do it does not interrupt our work day. * Being able to put in down grades is a huge help * Very user friendly
Cons
* Certain things are not as customizable as we would like ie: patient forms, text message communications * Would love more options on insurance coverage * When you change an address or phone number there should be an option to apply it to everyone listed on the account. It is very time consuming to change it on every single family member, especially when there's like 8 people. * Switching primary and secondary insurance is very difficult and time consuming
Switched From
srinivas
Company size: 2-10 employees
Industry: Higher Education
Time used: More than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.
August 2019
Dentrix for dental practice management
Patient appointment and payment methods are great. there are no features that allows to capture patient feedback. charting is good and can be changed over time. referral process is still manual. there should be a voluntary/ optional training program for subscribers every year offered by the company.
Pros
user friendly, easy layout, great features
Cons
tricky to use, inability to add templates, referral processes
Reasons for choosing Dentrix Ascend
more features
Reasons for switching to Dentrix Ascend
change in the course of offer
Veronica
Company size: 11-50 employees
Industry: Medical Practice
Time used: More than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.
May 2021
Feedback
Overall we switched because we were trying to access all patients from all locations and switching to this software has allowed us to do that.
Pros
I love that we can login with ease from anywhere, it allows us to look at charts and complete tasks from any location. I also love the dashboard, it shows what claims need to be worked on and helps keep the team on track.
Cons
The clinical team has not been happy with the way the chart is and when you are placing the treatment and existing treatment in.
Kathy
Company size: 2-10 employees
Industry: Medical Practice
Time used: Less than 12 months
Review Source: Capterra
June 2019
Every Update Makes it Better
The best thing so far is being able to utilize Patient Communications, emails and texts make a huge difference with our recare.
Pros
This software is so user friendly. We are readily able to find what we need using the drop downs. When we want to add something to a chart it is clear where to find the chart, or notes, etc. Every time there is an applied update it improves the process and makes sense. Ascend is very in-touch with what we, the users, need.
Cons
There are only a few hiccups we have found but they are small and we have found work-arounds; some verbiage in the texts or emails, but they are all being looked at or addressed.
Reasons for choosing Dentrix Ascend
N/A
Reasons for switching to Dentrix Ascend
The cloud based system is more streamlined and updated constantly. We have a smaller office and try to stay on top of all new technology when possible.
Jodi
Company size: 2-10 employees
Industry: Hospital & Health Care
Time used: More than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.
May 2021
Pedo
Pros
Works well, cloud based is wonderful. So many "workarounds" suggested rather than ensuring a truly functional product.
Cons
All of the suggested "workarounds" instead of ensuring true functionality. VERY challenging and time consuming to create insurance fee schedules with copay percentages for each plan. Should have option for patients to automatically become inactive after "X" number of months have passed since last visit. Should not be able to appoint inactive patients without first changing them to active. Better notification of balances / credits / ideally on appointment card. The ability to delete any procedure (EVEN IF IT IS ON A PRE-D). The ability to add a D0230 to a treatment plan without first having to add D0220 then change as a line item to D0230. Online scheduling never worked properly/ MANY ERRORS in scheduling/ double booking/ and we have now disabled.
Reasons for switching to Dentrix Ascend
Because Umbie was purchased by Dentrix.
Lane
Company size: 11-50 employees
Industry: Health, Wellness and Fitness
Time used: More than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.
May 2021
Great Patient Management Software
The software has done exactly what we need and they continually are releasing new features that make the software more reliable. I love that it is all cloud based and we don't need a local server.
Pros
One of the most intuitive user interfaces of any dental software that I have seen. Great functionality and reporting tools.
Cons
Like any big brand software, feature requests take quite a while to be implemented, if ever.
Reasons for choosing Dentrix Ascend
Price, User Interface, Features, Support, track record
Elizabeth
Company size: 2-10 employees
Industry: Hospital & Health Care
Time used: Less than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
November 2018
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.
Veronica
Company size: 51-200 employees
Industry: Medical Practice
Time used: More than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.
August 2019
Dentrix Ascend Review
We have used it for several years and have never had any major issues.
Pros
It is very user friendly. If you have any issues with any part of the software you can go to the help center or community forum and find the answers you are looking for.
Cons
Setting up reports are a bit difficult, and entering patient information sometimes doesnt transfer to a family member.
Alternatives Considered
Reasons for choosing Dentrix Ascend
Reports are still easier than Curve Hero.
Bruce
Company size: 2-10 employees
Industry: Medical Practice
Time used: Less than 12 months
Review Source: Capterra
November 2019
Dentix Ascend
We are clearly making better decisions and better financial forecasts with the dashboard. It has made the phrase "work smarter, not harder" a reality for us!
Pros
There are multiple things to like about this software. First and foremost is the ease of use and intuitive flow. The second and for some of us, importantly, the support is immediate, friendly and definitive. Problems are easily solved during our busiest time at the office.
Cons
The end of month statement procedure took more time to generate initially than I thought appropriate. There have been continual improvements to that function.
Reasons for choosing Dentrix Ascend
The product had the promise of continual improvement and they have delivered.
Reasons for switching to Dentrix Ascend
cloud based with not much progress from Softdent

Dentrix Ascend
The number of recommendations our advisors have made over the past 30 days. Our advisors assess buyers’ needs for free and only recommend products that meet buyers’ needs. Vendors pay Software Advice for these referrals.