Office Manager: Using Cleardent 6+, chartless for 4 years. Victoria BC office

My overall experience is very good. But just my few of my cons that I find frustrating.

Pros

Love the right click option to access all areas of the computer chart!!

Easy to use, easy to learn.

Lots of options that we haven't even begun to learn and never seem to have time for.

Great that ClearDent has the option to customize per practice.

The reports that I produce are very helpful.

Support team is great, if someone cant help with the problem they do call back.

Cons

Ledger is a bit frustrating for my front end ladies, I don't find it difficult but the ladies at the front do and the patients definitely don't understand it. So requires to much explanation.

I don't like the patient screen (no matter where in the program you are), it does not show the doctor that the patient sees on the top tab anywhere. Only in the personal screen. We have 4 dentist in our practice and it would be VERY helpful if the doctor they are registered with shows up at the top tab where there name is.

In the insurance info screen, you offer the option of putting the fiscal year in for there plan. But soon as the year turns over the computer defaults to the calendar year. VERY frustrating, because now all the trouble we have gone through to collect accurate insurance info and put this into the persons insurance tab is now useless. So now all estimates are wrong and treatment planning is wrong if the patient is trying to stay with the confines of there plan limit. And it becomes a financial nightmare and angry patients.

Wish that you could do minimal customization in the insurance tab. Eg: if a procedure is not covered on the policy the option was there to put that into the insurance screen somehow to immediately transfer that cost to the patient when submitting. EDI does not always give you a EOB sometimes just a acknowledgment.

The small visual screen when submitting that the front end sees when the office is chartless. That could be a bit larger.

SPEED IN CLEARDENT NEEDS IMPROVEMENT ,

Love the program, easy of screens and use and being able to get from one area to another . Good graphics , support seems better than a year ago . Love clearconnect . Need to know how to use it better . Patients are loving it .

Pros

The functions are great , to see all information for patient information but a lot of clicking . Clicking from one screen to another . Pros ease of use compared to other programs .

Cons

Wish there was a feature showing information missing from patient info area . Like no picture on acct in schedule . The scheduler should be able to show what info is missing on chart . Emails mobiles pictures with maybe a question make ? Meaning go to patient info screen to get . The Pre Med we have to put into each appt but if in the Medical or patient screen we clicked the button and when those patients came in their appts were automatically knowledged as Pre Med IMPORAMT . Other wise can be missed.

Wish when in adjustment the notes category would automatically not be checked to show on statements patients don’t need to see any individual notes only for office .

PREMED needs to be automatic on any appointment showing and ticked . Not as you are putting in the appt . Too much to remember needs to shows immediately.

Would like to be able to get to deposit from schedule .

Printing patient receipt have to say print 2x once money taken . Should just print automatically once $ taken and processed.

Schedule should be able to get to screens in other areas as well as it is the main function .

Would like an icon for insurance over 3 mos outstanding on acct or it goes to orange as we should look into a acct

User friendly and nice design!

We are now able to view all EDI transaction/claims as they are kept in the patient file. We are able to send documents with encrypted passwords. We are able to do digital charting.

Pros

Has options for customization, easy to use scheduling and billing. Great reports for accounting. Seamless integration for Sirona xray sensors. All insurance EDI transactions are kept in the patient file for future access. Easy to shorten & lengthen appointments by pulling up & down on the appointment. Easy transition from previous software. Great training!

Cons

Unable to double click on items in drop box to preview the appointment.
Few options for "grey notes" or Mark as it's labelled, would be nice to have color options & more customization.
Unable to merge categories in documents for patient documents that were imported from previous software .
Can only skip ahead + 1 mon, 3 mons, 4 mons, 6 mons, 9 mons or next day in calendar, would be helpful to be able to click skip ahead 1 week.
It's too easy to "remove patient from database", extra security should be added.
It's impossible to delete/move a document in a patient file if it was entered incorrectly after locked.
Cannot choose email as preferred method of contact - only phone numbers.
Preferred name doesn't replace legal name in schedule, it's added in to the appointment description but not bolded or another color to bring attention to staff.
When a primary insurance changes or is removed from primary insurance holder, it still remains on other family members files, it should be removed immediately once primary has been updated.
When exporting 1 xray, all existing xrays and photos are exported as well.
Encrypted emails only have the attached document/file encrypted but not the email itself (can only encrypt documents/files - we thought the capability extended to any email sent through Cleardent).
The fees to add on the option to text patienst is ridiculously expensive.
When "confirming" appointments, the appt has a "C" but doesn't have the option to change color.

Pretty decent practice management software

Overall it has been working for us. We hardly use the support so the yearly cost for that is a bit high I find especially when you add it up over the years. A per call charge instead might be a good option for them to offer for the offices that rarely call for support.

Pros

I like that everything is integrated - digital charting, radiographs, ledger and is easy to work with.

Cons

I didn't like that the EDI claims weren't automatically handled by the software into the ledger, but I hear this has been incorporated in a more recent version. Also sometimes upgrading to the new version taxes older computers so hardware upgrading is needed. That seems related to inefficient programming since this type of software isn't normally CPU intensive I would think. Maybe the more current versions don't require the latest and greatest CPU power. I don't know.

Comprehensive

We have been happy with ClearDent and our practice is 100% using it. From billing, scheduling, charting, and to do lists, it is all in ClearDent. They pride themselves in the support and rarely do we wait to get in touch with a support person and 99% of the time they fix the issue. Feature requests and improvements are less responsive, but still good. We do recommend ClearDent to our colleagues.

Pros

It integrates well with all our equipment, digital radiographs, etc.
Support is excellent, with any issues dealt with quickly so that we do not lose productivity

Cons

You can 'see' the different modules and how they got added on to the base system - still all works, but not always as convenient or consistent as you would expect.
The reporting modules are awkward and it takes a while to understand them, and they don't export well to something like excel so we can do other analysis. What you see on the screen, is not what gets printed and with older staff on the front desk that 'need' to work on paper, they often print something like a recall patient list not realizing it will be 50 pages.

Love ClearDent

Benefits are the people who handle our support. I love how ClearDent is easy to use and learn. Team is an excellent support/trainer. I would like to have ClearDent visit or put out surveys on what offices would like changed within the software to continue to improve.

Pros

ClearDent is super easy to use. It has a lot of helpful functions that other programs do not have. The best part of ClearDent is the support team. They are the best. Super knowledgeable, and if they do not have an answer for you they will find out same day.

Cons

I would like icons that are clearer. I would like to be able to customize more within the software. I really do not like the charting area. It is slow and not easy to read. It would be helpful if it was more like a paper chart.

ClearDent

Help to keep track of appointment, patient information and treatment progresss. Basic functions are OK but there are still inconvenient issues that need to be addressed.

Pros

Charting. Schedule. These are easy to use and navigate. The charting graphics could be better though.

Cons

Ledger is confusing to read and use especially when we have a mixture of assignment and non-assignment patients - not easy to distinguish between the two types of patients ans entering insurance cheque payments is confusing for frontdesk. It does not keep track of total fees charged year to date in the ledger so we have to add by calculator!

Digital imaging is not completely compatible with ScanX. And not sure how to transfer radiographs between patients when radiographs were scanned into the wrong patient. When we print out xray or email
Xrays, the file doesn’t include patient name - very inconvenient.

Great if you are new to paperless charts

Generally I'm please that we chose Cleardent. I hope it becomes more popular in Ontario as the majority of new staff are unfamiliar with it.

Pros

Ease of use. It was easy to transition from paper. All staff from different generations and experience were able to adapt quickly. I like that the digital xrays are integrated rather than using bridging.

Cons

Customer support is mixed. I have solved several of my own problems because they insist something is not possible, when I'm sure it is.

Bugs that we find are not handled promptly.

User-Friendly Software

Their tech support is above average, although there's one particular guy I'd rather speak to most of the time (Vinod) because he handles call well & is really well-versed on the system. Do I get money's worth from using their software - it's an in-between of Yes & No? But I have no plans of switching to another software.

Pros

Easy to navigate menus. The software is well equipped and ready to interface with other applications.

Cons

I spoke to a tech support guy before, I was looking to generate a report (I just can't remember exactly what but it has something to do with cancelling appointments on schedule) but I was told that that item (detail) can't be generated. So I told him maybe you could suggest on your next meeting to have that included on the software for UAT. I don't know what happened since but I still can't get that report I was looking for.

Cleardent helps us onboard new staff and help our patients effciently

Ease of customer service and friendliness allows the staff to take the step to call - not wait to ask myself or the office managers.

Pros

As a dental staff trainer, I love the training tool online. The basic framework is clearly reviewed, and I and the staff can spend more time training on specific areas.

I appreciate the ease of use and the reporting systems for our day and month end. Customer support is wonderful and the staff learn more each time they speak to someone.

Great job!

Cons

I would like to have the lab codes not automatically have a check mark next to it in the treatment planning area. I create templates that sometimes needs codes removed and now when remove all checked items is clicked a lab code is removed that was auto checked

Very User Friendly Software

Pros

Our office has had many fill in staff over the last year (due to injury/accidents) and this software if very easy to teach to new users. It has a great workflow from start - patients being checked in and seated - to finish - receptionist checking the patient out and scheduling the subsequent visits. Since starting to use the emailing system for recall visits our hygiene department has started scheduling 3-4 months in advance and our cancellation list to fill appointments is longer than its ever been.

Cons

We wish that there was a greater ability for customization of dental charting and a more efficient way to input existing treatment when charting for a new patient to the practice.

Lots to offer

We have been using Cleardent for over five years. Still feeling like we are only touching the tip of the iceberg in terms of the potential to drive our business forward.

Pros

This software has it all. Great program for practice management for a complex office. Plenty of management tools and customizable.

Cons

It is a complex program so lots to learn to maximize its potential. You get out what you put in so make sure to be ready to adapt to updates.

cleardent long term customer thoughts

Good customer service but support doesn't implement much needed features that customer's request.

Pros

Software has a lot of places to add notes to keep track of conversations, insurance, etc.
EDI billing for instant EOB is great.
Charting is good and perio is easy to read

Cons

Inability of Cleardent to caluclate Rolling frequencies. Support says it is important feature but 2 years on they still have not implemented it. This has cost us alot of time to calculate each patients eligilibity because we have to check everyone in case they are Rolling or not.

Cleardent User Friendly Great Customer Support

One of the customer representatives is my number one support, he understands me sends me the info I need step by step emails He is the best but they are all very knowledgeable at Cleardent.

Pros

I have been using Cleardent for over 15years and it is very user friendly but the best is the support staff, I use it to the extreme. I call for assistance and love the call back program. I also email my favorite support members and get a response with in a timely fashion.

Cons

There are features that I would love to use but financially our office is not able to access them so if they put the features and increased the support a little so everyone can use them eg texting etc

Great Software

Using cleardent for 6 years, texting and email service is great. I'd like to see more features that we can use w/ the text and email.

Pros

Very colourful and like how graphic it is, (dentrix is to bland) very easy to use and I like that a couple suggestions I have made for the program have been added in the updates

Cons

when you remove secondary ins to remove primary and then put secondary so you can send a claim, all the fees constantly change. It'd be nice what you put in for primary/secondary stays the same so if a tx plan is added and you need to pre-d it but another part of the plan is already assessed it'd be great if the fees never changed.

User Friendly Software

We are just starting to go paperless and I think that this software has lots of good features that we have not even started to use. We will be happy when we are using it to it's full capacity

Pros

I have used many different software in offices and ClearDent is one of most user friendly out there. They have many great features that other companies are lacking that make the ease of use and navigation terrific.

Cons

I feet that if you create a treatment plan for a patient you should be able to make that into a contact for them and either have it waiting or book it from there. It is almost like we have to do the extra step by not having that option.

The software that could be a market leader but missing one control/feature

Mixture of happy working and frustration with the management.

Pros

It’s a great system for a dental practice, user friendly and easy to learn and use. Exceptional technical support. Good value for the money.

Cons

The developer/VP refuses to add one option in a user setup wich would allow the owner of the dental practice regulate the access of each team member to the financial data of the practice. The programmers are very receptive to implement multiple “fancy pictures, colours and such” but refusing to help the owner with safeguarding very sensitive information. It has been a source of frustration for over 6 years already.

Review

It does everything I need but my staff are the ones who run the program. I look at the charting and that is where it is disappointing to me.

Pros

Charting dental work drew me in until I used it.

Cons

Charting: The graphics on it are not accurate to what was done on the tooth. For example if I did a buccal restoration the whole buccal surface on the tooth graphic was marked as restored which makes looking at the chart graphic useless to me. Instead I have to read the notes to see what was done.
The software is not Mac compatible (native).

Best from Day 1

They’ve been excellent! IMHO the most receptive company wrt listening to their customers. (And I’ve had experience with a few different software vendors!)

Pros

The company listened to our needs and always tried to update their software to incorporate our needs by adding features and modify accordingly to address concerns.

Cons

As the company grew, the staff grew so there’s be more support but I felt the love hours for their availability decreased and the personal touch seemed to have been lost.

Cleardent

Even from three time zones away, we are able to get timely and helpful customer support.

Pros

Built from the ground up to match modern app, program look and feel, as opposed to other programs that are trying to keep the look they had from Win95 not to alienate old users.

Cons

It's not as well known and not taught at dental auxiliary schools. So almost all new staff will have to be trained on using it.