A few tips & tricks from your Open Dental experts

1. I accidentally created a duplicate Open Dental user in Setup, Security. How can I delete it?

Users created in Open Dental cannot be deleted, but can be hidden. Simply double-click to open the user, then check “Is Hidden” to hide this user.

2. We have providers that have different reimbursement rates within the same insurance plan (or charge a different office fee). How do I do this in Open Dental?

This is done by editing the fee schedule that has different rates by provider. Take these steps:

1) Go to Lists, Procedure Codes.

2) In the lower right corner, click on the Fee Scheds button.

3) Double-click to open the fee schedule that has different rates by provider.

4) Un-check the “Use Global Fees” check box. Click OK, then Close.

5) In the Procedure Codes window, select the fee schedule on the right, then select the provider. Repeat this process to show/edit fees by provider for up to 3 providers at once.

6) Once you’re done editing fees for each provider, click Close. Your changes are automatically saved. Fees will be charted and insurance estimates created based on the provider on the procedure and their fee in the fee schedule.

7) Now that you’ve updated fees, do you want to update the fees in all active treatment plans?

Go to Lists, Procedure Codes and click on the Fee Tools button in the lower right corner. Under Global Update Fees, (select Clinic if needed, then) click the Update button and click through the prompts. Open Dental will let you know how many codes were updated.

3. I accidentally deleted a procedure with a note attached. Can I retrieve the note? 

There are 2 options:

1)  Run a query. Copy all of the green text below, then go to Reports, User Query. Click the Paste button. enter the procedure date range by editing the FromDate and ToDate (edit the date only, make sure you leave the single quotes around the dates), then click Submit Query. This query #1319 can also be found on our Query Examples Page. This is the easiest way to copy the text of the note.

/*1319 List of deleted procedures with each iteration of procedure notes.*/
/*Useful for copying notes from deleted procedures.*/
/*Query code written/modified: 02/05/2018*/

/*Change date range here in format ‘yyyy-mm-dd’*/
SET @FromDate = ‘2018-01-01’;
SET @ToDate = ‘2018-01-31’;

/*———————DO NOT MODIFY BELOW THIS LINE———————*/
SELECT CONCAT(p.LName, ‘, ‘, p.FName) AS Patient,
pl.PatNum AS ‘Pat#’,
pl.ProcNum,
pc.ProcCode,
pl.ProcDate,
pn.EntryDateTime,
pn.Note
FROM procedurelog pl
INNER JOIN procnote pn ON pl.ProcNum = pn.ProcNum
INNER JOIN procedurecode pc ON pl.CodeNum = pc.CodeNum
INNER JOIN patient p ON pn.PatNum = p.PatNum
WHERE pl.ProcDate BETWEEN @FromDate AND @ToDate
AND pl.ProcStatus = 6 /*Deleted*/
ORDER BY pl.ProcDate, Patient, pl.ProcNum, pn.EntryDateTime

Once you’ve run the query, all deleted procedures in that date range will appear. Click on the note field – the entire note text will be highlighted. Right click and select Copy.

In the patient’s chart module, open (or create) the procedure, and paste the note into the notes field (ctrl+v or right click-paste).

2)  Show deleted notes in the Chart module by selecting Audit Mode. 

TECH TIP: Vote on Feature Request 2888 to allow copying note text in Audit Mode!

Go to the Chart module. and click on the Show tab. Under Object types, you’ll see a check box for “Audit” – check this box. All progress notes, including the deleted ones, will appear, along with a note showing “Custom View“. Deleted procedures (and their notes) will show a D in the Stat (status) column. If it’s a short chart note, just jot it down, then double-click to open the procedure, and re-enter the note. For longer notes, use option 1) above.

TECH TIP: When you’re done, click to select the correct Chart View. The “Custom View” note will disappear, and you’ll be able to resume normal operations.

In case you missed them, here are a few recent posts you might like: 

• “Patient Payments: Allocating Made Easy!” (published 12/29/17)
• “Software Update: Stable Version 17.3 Highlights” (published 1/3/18)
• “Grow Your Practice: Don’t Let Revenue Slip Through the Cracks” (published 1/11/18)
• “FAQs Answered: Monthly Patient Billing” (published 1/18/18)
• “It’s Tax Refund Season – Get Patients Scheduled for the Care They Need!” (published 1/25/18)
• “Installing Open Dental on Additional Work Stations in Your Practice” (published 1/31/18)