Open Dental Review: Overview, Features, Pricing & Alternatives in 2025

Managing dental records shouldn’t be so difficult.

If you’re comparing practice management software, you’re probably stuck juggling clunky workflows or limited reporting options that never fit how your office actually runs.

The biggest stumbling block is that your entire day slows down with rigid systems that force you to work their way—not yours.

That’s exactly the problem Open Dental aims to fix. I’ve dug into how their open-source approach gives you real control over patient management, billing, charting, and integrations, without unnecessary restrictions or per-user fees.

In this review, you’ll see how you can truly tailor the platform to your workflows—so your office can run the way you want.

In this Open Dental review, I’ll break down features, real pricing details, customizability, onboarding, and show how Open Dental stands up against top alternatives you might be considering.

You’ll leave with the clarity and insights you need to choose the features you need to run your dental practice confidently.

Let’s get started.

Open Dental Overview

Open Dental has been around since 2003, based in Salem, Oregon, with a mission to deliver powerful, affordable, and customizable dental practice management software. Founded by dentist Dr. Jordan Sparks, it clearly focuses on solving real dental practice needs directly.

What sets them apart is their commitment to open-source philosophy and deep customizability, catering mainly to small and medium-sized dental practices as well as larger Dental Service Organizations that want flexibility without per-user fees. You’ll notice it’s not aiming for flashy design but practical control over workflows and data.

The company consistently pushes incremental product updates instead of chasing big acquisitions. This steady approach means features evolve thoughtfully—I’d say the recent developments reflected in the latest Open Dental review highlight that ongoing refinement.

Unlike competitors who mainly offer closed, all-in-one systems, Open Dental focuses on giving practices control over their own data and software, which appeals if you want to tweak and tailor workflows without vendor lock-in. This makes it feel like the software was built by people who actually use this stuff.

They work with a range of practices—from solo dentists to DSOs—with many valuing the balance of power and cost.

Currently, they prioritize enhancing interoperability and expanding third-party integrations, aligning well with how dental practices seek more connected, adaptable software solutions.

Now let’s examine their capabilities.

Open Dental Features

Practice management driving you crazy?

Open Dental features come as a comprehensive, single solution designed to manage every aspect of your dental practice. These are the five main Open Dental features that tackle common dental office headaches with depth and flexibility.

1. Clinical Charting & Treatment Planning

Hard to keep treatment plans clear and organized?

It’s frustrating when patient charts don’t fully reflect treatment progress or proposed procedures, causing confusion and delays in care.

The graphical tooth chart feature lets you plot existing issues, completed work, and future treatments visually. What’s great is the ability to create multiple prioritized treatment plans you can present clearly with fees. From my testing, this feature really shines when communicating plans to patients and tracking their progress precisely.

The result is your team delivers well-organized, legally sound plans that improve patient understanding and acceptance.

2. Patient Management & Appointment Scheduling

Missed appointments disrupting your day?

Scheduling chaos and lost patient follow-ups can drain your front desk resources and cost you revenue.

Open Dental’s Appointment Book is the scheduling command center. It supports operatories with color coding and flexible blocks. The “Pinboard” holds unscheduled appointments to keep patients from slipping through the cracks. Combined with automated reminders via text or email, this feature reduces no-shows significantly, which I found to ease administrative burdens greatly.

This means your front office gains full control over bookings, freeing time for patient care and reducing gaps in your schedule.

3. Billing & Insurance Claims Management

Insurance claims taking forever to process?

Dental billing can be incredibly complex with various insurance plans and frequent back-and-forth approvals.

Open Dental simplifies billing by generating and submitting ADA-standard claims electronically. The system tracks claim statuses, manages pre-authorizations, and posts payments accurately. What stands out is the robust handling of complex insurance fee schedules, although setup requires careful attention. From my experience, this feature streamlines reconciliation and reduces billing errors.

You get faster insurance reimbursements and clearer patient accounts, improving your practice’s cash flow.

4. Open Source Customizability & Reporting

Stuck with rigid software that won’t fit your workflow?

Many dental systems force a one-size-fits-all approach, limiting your ability to adapt software to your unique needs.

Open Dental breaks that mold with open-source customizability and a built-in SQL query tool. You can create tailored reports or even alter the software’s source code to build custom automations. This flexibility empowers tech-savvy practices to extract precise insights, from procedure profitability to patient health trends. Here’s where Open Dental really shines for data-driven users.

This is a game-changer — you gain control over data and workflows to optimize your practice’s efficiency and decision-making.

5. Imaging & Third-Party Integrations

Frustrated by disconnected dental imaging?

When dental images live in separate systems, it’s harder to get a full clinical picture quickly.

Open Dental acts as a hub that launches most third-party imaging software like Dexis or Schick. While it doesn’t store images natively, this integration solution maintains broad hardware compatibility and links images directly to patient records. From my testing, it works reliably but feels less fluid compared to fully integrated systems.

The practical benefit is that you still get a centralized patient profile combining clinical data and dental images for efficient diagnosis.

These Open Dental features work together to provide a unified dental practice management system that balances power, flexibility, and practical business needs. Next, I’ll look into pricing and some alternatives to consider.

Open Dental Pricing

Wondering how much Open Dental really costs?

Open Dental pricing is refreshingly transparent with a straightforward, upfront cost model that eschews per-user fees. This means it’s easier to budget your dental practice software investment without hidden surprises or complex tiering.

Plan	Price & Features
Base License	$1,000 one-time fee for first location • Perpetual license ownership • $500 for each additional location • No per-user or per-workstation fees
First Year Support	$1,848/year (mandatory first year) • Phone & email support • Software updates included • Online documentation access
Ongoing Support	$1,848/year (optional after first year) • Continued software updates • Technical assistance available • Recommended for best performance
Optional eServices Add-Ons	From $20 to $50/month per service • Patient Portal & Web Forms $45 • Integrated Texting $25 + usage • eReminders $30 • Web Scheduling $50 per module • Mobile Web $20

1. Value Assessment

Straightforward pricing with no surprises.

From my cost analysis, what stands out is Open Dental’s one-time license fee model that avoids per-user charges common elsewhere. Their pricing approach lets you own the software outright with predictable annual support costs, making the total cost of ownership far easier to forecast. This budget transparency helps you avoid inflated monthly fees as your practice grows or adds locations.

This means your budget gets stability without surprise increases as your team or case volume grows.

2. Trial/Demo Options

Try before you buy easily.

Open Dental offers a free trial download so you can test the software firsthand. More commonly, you can schedule a guided demo to explore core features. What I found valuable is their accessible evaluation options to understand pricing impact clearly without commitment, letting you see how your practice workflow fits before purchase.

This lets you evaluate software fit practically and understand support costs before full pricing applies.

3. Plan Comparison

Choose add-ons as needed.

Starting with a fixed license and support costs, you can add eServices a la carte, tailoring your monthly expenses precisely. What stands out is how you only pay for extra modules you actually need, unlike bundled competitors where pricing includes features you may never use. This pricing approach gives you flexibility and efficient budget allocation.

For your practice, this means matching pricing to exact needs while controlling ongoing monthly fees.

My Take: Open Dental’s pricing model is highly attractive for budget-conscious dental practices that want ownership and transparency without recurring per-user charges. It fits small to medium offices and DSOs valuing predictable costs and customization freedom.

The overall Open Dental pricing provides clear value with no hidden recurring fees.

Open Dental Reviews

Are Open Dental reviews truly reliable?

From my review analysis, Open Dental reviews come from various sources like Capterra and G2, revealing diverse user experiences. I focused on patterns within user feedback to provide a clear picture of what customers appreciate and struggle with, helping you get a well-rounded understanding of the software.

1. Overall User Satisfaction

Users show mixed but generally positive feelings.

From the reviews I analyzed, Open Dental consistently averages 4.5+ stars, indicating strong satisfaction overall. What stands out is how users highlight the balance between affordability and functionality as a key strength, though new users sometimes find the system complex initially.

This suggests you can expect a robust system if you’re prepared for a learning curve.

2. Common Praise Points

Users consistently love its customizability.

What I found in user feedback is that many customers praise the software’s high degree of customization and the affordable pricing model. Review-wise, the ability to create custom SQL reports and the helpful phone support team are frequently mentioned as significant highlights.

These features matter because they allow your practice to tailor workflows and control costs effectively.

3. Frequent Complaints

Learning curve and interface cause frustration.

Across numerous reviews, users often complain about the dated, unintuitive user interface and the steep learning curve involved. What stands out is how training new staff presents a real challenge due to its complexity, which many users say requires a power user or IT support.

For many, these issues are manageable but could be a deal-breaker if you lack technical resources.

Overall, Open Dental reviews reflect a mix of strong user satisfaction and notable usability challenges, offering valuable insight for practices considering it.

Best Open Dental Alternatives

Having trouble picking the right dental software?

The best Open Dental alternatives include several strong options, each suited for different practice sizes, budgets, and technology preferences to help you find the right fit.

1. Dentrix

Need a polished, industry-standard choice?

Dentrix is ideal if your practice values a turnkey solution with a more modern and intuitive interface. From my competitive analysis, Dentrix offers the most polished user experience and a widely recognized platform, but it comes at a higher price point and less customization flexibility than Open Dental’s open-source approach.

Choose Dentrix when you want premium support and reputation over deep customization or lower costs.

2. Curve Dental

Prefer cloud-based simplicity and mobility?

Curve Dental stands out if ease of use, zero on-site IT maintenance, and remote access matter most to you. What I found comparing options is that Curve Dental’s cloud platform reduces IT headaches significantly, making it a strong alternative for smaller or growing practices eager to avoid server management and prioritize user-friendly design.

Opt for Curve Dental if cloud access and minimal technical overhead outweigh Open Dental’s local control benefits.

3. Eaglesoft

Heavily invested in Patterson hardware?

Eaglesoft makes more sense when your practice relies on Patterson Dental equipment and wants strong integration within that ecosystem. Alternative-wise, Eaglesoft delivers seamless compatibility with Patterson products and robust patient management, but offers fewer customization options than Open Dental’s open architecture.

Choose Eaglesoft if your setup centers around Patterson systems and you need tight hardware-software integration.

4. Practice-Web

Looking for an affordable on-premise alternative?

Practice-Web suits smaller practices wanting a budget-friendly, Windows-based PMS very similar in philosophy to Open Dental. From my analysis, Practice-Web offers a simpler interface out of the box and a more straightforward setup, though it lacks Open Dental’s extensibility and advanced customization features.

Pick Practice-Web if Open Dental feels overly complex and your priority is cost-effective simplicity.

The best Open Dental alternatives depend on your practice size, integration needs, and budget priorities rather than just features alone.

Setup & Implementation

Worried about complex setup and training demands?

This Open Dental review delves into the practical side of Open Dental implementation, setting realistic expectations about the time, resources, and challenges you’ll face during deployment.

1. Setup Complexity & Timeline

Preparation is key for a successful launch.

From my implementation analysis, Open Dental setup is notably involved. Implementation timelines typically run from 3 to 6 months, reflecting data migration, insurance configurations, and customizations. It’s not a quick install and requires steady attention to detail.

You’ll want to allocate time upfront for data validation and configuring fee schedules to avoid surprises later.

2. Technical Requirements & Integration

Strong IT infrastructure is non-negotiable here.

What I found about deployment is that you must host Open Dental on your own server, whether on-premise or cloud-based. This means you need dedicated IT support for setup, security, and maintenance throughout and beyond implementation.

You should review your IT capacity and plan for ongoing technical oversight before starting to ensure smooth operations.

3. Training & Change Management

User learning curve can be steep but manageable.

Implementation-wise, the software is not the most intuitive, so expect significant training needs. Success depends heavily on having a super-user or “power user” to champion the system and support colleagues during early adoption.

Focus on leveraging the detailed documentation and invest in hands-on training sessions to keep resistance low and confidence high.

4. Support & Success Factors

Reliable vendor support makes a big difference.

From my implementation analysis, Open Dental’s US-based phone support is knowledgeable and patient, which helps navigate complexity during rollout. Having dedicated support drastically improves your implementation experience and reduces downtime.

For success, ensure you have a support plan in place and assign internal champions who can coordinate with vendor resources effectively.

Overall, Open Dental implementation requires dedicated resources and realistic timelines but rewards you with extensive control and customization options.

Who’s Open Dental For

Who should use Open Dental for their practice?

In this Open Dental review, I break down which dental practices and teams get the most from this platform. By examining specific business profiles, team dynamics, and workflows, I’ll help you decide if this software aligns with your practice’s needs.

1. Ideal User Profile

Best for budget-conscious, tech-savvy dental practices.

Open Dental stands out when you run a small to medium-sized dental practice and want powerful features without breaking the bank. From my user analysis, practices with a tech-savvy office manager or dentist who customizes workflows get the most value from its flexibility and low-cost model.

Those who invest time in setup and training see strong gains through tailored reporting and process optimization.

2. Business Size & Scale

Works well for small to growing multi-location practices.

Your operation will benefit if you’re managing up to a few dozen staff and possibly multiple locations with centralized control. What I found about target users is that practices wanting to avoid per-user fees and maintain customization thrive here.

You’ll know it fits if your team is comfortable with some technical overhead and wants to scale without escalating licensing costs.

3. Use Case Scenarios

Great for customized workflows and detailed reporting needs.

Open Dental excels if your practice requires detailed, custom reports for business insights and wants software adaptable enough to tune appointment scheduling, billing, and charting. From my analysis, practices needing advanced SQL reporting capabilities will find this platform especially powerful.

If your workflows entail standard dental procedures but also unique operational demands, this software suits you well.

4. Who Should Look Elsewhere

Poor fit for non-technical teams seeking simple, modern interfaces.

Your situation calls for alternatives if your staff lacks IT support or if you prioritize a sleek, intuitive, cloud-based experience with minimal maintenance. From my user analysis, teams needing zero-configuration cloud software and high user-friendliness should explore other options.

Look at fully hosted, subscription-based platforms designed for ease-of-use rather than heavy customization.

Open Dental review shows you’ll benefit most if your team embraces customization and values control over flashy simplicity.

Bottom Line

Is Open Dental the right fit for your practice?

My Open Dental review shows a robust, customizable dental PMS ideal for practices prioritizing control and affordability over modern interface polish.

1. Overall Strengths

Customization and affordability stand out clearly.

Open Dental delivers a highly flexible platform that lets you tailor workflows and reports, backed by transparent, user-friendly pricing with no per-user fees. From my comprehensive analysis, the open-source architecture empowers data control and deep customization unmatched by most competitors.

These strengths help practices save costs while adapting the software precisely to their unique operational needs and growth plans.

2. Key Limitations

User interface and learning curve pose challenges.

The dated UI and complexity create a steep learning curve, making new user onboarding lengthy without dedicated support. Based on this review, training new staff requires intentional investment and ongoing IT support to avoid productivity dips during adoption.

These limitations are manageable if your practice commits to proper training but might frustrate businesses wanting an intuitive, out-of-the-box experience.

3. Final Recommendation

Recommended for practices valuing flexibility and cost savings.

You should choose Open Dental if you need a cost-effective, highly configurable system and can dedicate resources to training and setup. From my analysis, this software fits best with practices willing to leverage customization and internal IT expertise to maximize value.

Your decision should weigh the trade-off between upfront effort and long-term control, moving confidently if customization is a priority.

This Open Dental review reflects solid value with controlled trade-offs based on your priorities, offering clarity for your decision-making process.