You’ve wished your patients a Happy New Year, and have closed the doors to your practice for the last time this year. As you wave goodbye to your patients and to 2022, there are a few things to do to end the year on a high note and ensure a terrific start in 2023. With these few steps, you’ll be ready to have your best year yet!

Software Update

If your office is located in the US, be sure to update to version 22.2.43 or 22.3.14 or greater. This will give you access to the latest CDT Codes and the latest Open Dental features.

CDT Codes

The new 2023 CDT codes list includes 22 new codes, 14 revisions, and 2 deletions. See our video or infographic for information on how to update!

Fee Schedules

As the new year begins, you may want to analyze your office fees. If your office needs to update or increase fees for the new year, this can be easily done in Open Dental. Prefer to watch & learn? Here’s a QuickTip Video for you.

In Open Dental, Go to Lists, Procedure Codes.

First, make a backup copy of your current fees. This is a preventative measure. Start by creating a new blank fee schedule.

1. Click Fee Scheds
2. Click Add.
3. Name the fee schedule for your current fees (e.g., Office Fees 2022 Archive). Click OK and close the Fee Schedules window.

Next, you’ll copy your current fees into the fee schedule you’ve just created.

1. Click Fee Tools (bottom right).
2. Select your current fee schedule in the Select Fees fee schedule dropdown.
3. Select the newly created fee schedule in the Copy To fee schedule dropdown.
4. Click Copy and close the window.
5. Select Fee Schedules.
6. Optional: Double-click the new fee schedule that is now a copy of your current fees. Check Hidden.

You now have an archived copy of your old fees and can proceed with making updates.

To increase all fees by a percentage:

1. In Lists, Procedure Codes, Click Fee Tools.
2. In the Select Fees fee schedule dropdown, choose the fee schedule that is currently in use (not the copy).
3. In the Increase by % , Enter the percentage to increase the fees (you may also enter a negative number to decrease fees).
4. Choose how to round your fees.
5. Click Increase.
6. If you are sure you want to increase (or decrease) all fees, click OK on the warning.

If you are not looking to change all fees, individual procedure fees can be changed from the Procedure Codes list by selecting the applicable fee schedule and typing in the new fees manually. Once procedure fees are changed, your office may want to update fees for treatment-planned procedures.

To update fees for all patients:

1. Click Fee Tools
2. Click Update Proc Fees Only to update procedure fees and/or Update Estimates Only to update insurance estimates and write-offs
3. Review any warning and click OK to proceed with updating fees
   • Once fees are updated, this cannot be undone. If you want to revert any fees, you must manually change fees on an individual procedure basis.
4. Fees for all patients and all changed fee schedules are now updated

To update fees for a single patient:

1. Select the patient.
2. Navigate to the Treatment Plan Module.
3. Click Update Fees in the top toolbar.
4. A confirmation message will appear, click OK to proceed with updating fees.

Canada Users – Fee Guides

As fee guides become available, they are added to our manual here. Check back routinely to see if your fee guide has become available. (Click the thumbnail to view the infographic)

A few notes:

• The Ontario Dental Association (ODA) fee guide will be available in a future update. First, update Open Dental, then enter your fee guide password when prompted. Check our manual page noted above for details.
• The British Columbia Dental Association (BCDA) fee guide will be available in a future update. First, update Open Dental, then enter your fee guide password when prompted. Check our manual page noted above for details.
• The Association des chirurgiens dentistes du Québec (ACDQ) fee guide is only available upon request. Please email vendor.relations@opendental.com.

Provider Schedules

Make sure to set up your provider Schedules so you can utilize the Appointment Search feature to find available appointment slots with providers, and use the Make Recall button to quickly schedule the patient’s next recall appointment. Operatories and Schedules must be set up if you would like to use Web Sched eServices that allow patients to schedule their own appointments online.

Pay Periods

If you are utilizing Time Cards within Open Dental, make sure your pay periods are set up for the next year. To create new pay periods, go to Setup, Manage, Time Cards.

1. At the bottom, click Generate Many.
   • Verify the Start Date (it will default to the day after your last pay period ends). Change this if needed.
2. Select the Interval at which you would like to create pay periods.
3. Enter the number of Pay Periods you’d like to generate.
   • If you’re using the Semi-Monthly interval, also make sure to enter Semi-Monthly Settings. For details on entering criteria, see our Manual.
4. Enter Pay Day information.
5. Click Generate Many to populate pay periods in the list to the right.
   • If you need to manually change any dates (e.g., if the pay date changes due to a holiday), double-click a pay period.
6. Once you’ve verified the pay periods, click OK to save the new pay periods.

For details on entering criteria, see our Manual.

Want to track your progress as you go? Download our printable New Year Checklist. The checklist is also a fillable PDF that can be checked off digitally (with clickable links for quick access to our manual) for those who are paperless.

There are several year-end tasks in Open Dental that are automated, so be sure to check out our New Year FAQ on other tasks you may have questions on.

Whether it’s finishing the year on a high note or preparing for a great start to 2023, we’re here for you! If you need help, there are several ways to reach our support team: chat, email, or give us a call.