Alerts in Open Dental notify users about errors, warnings, or actions needed. They can often go overlooked but offer vital insight on actions needed. In this post, we’ll explain what Alerts are and how to limit them to specific users.

Alerts

In the Main Menu of Open Dental is an Alerts button. You might notice this button turns red with a number indicated in parenthesis. Like this:

This means there are new or unread alerts awaiting your review. Click to view a full list.

Every one of these should be read and acknowledged. Some alerts are information-only. Others require action. Each alert is different. Highlight an alert to take action.

For example:

This alert indicates web forms are waiting to be retrieved. This is important for offices that have patients fill out forms online before their appointment. Actionable alerts like this one can be opened using the Open button. In this case, the Web Forms window would open to retrieve forms.

A Web Sched notification lets the user know an appointment has been created. The user can mark the alert as read or open the Web Sched Appointments Report.

An eConnector error lets a user know their eConnector is down. Since the eConnector is required for eServices (like texting or Web Sched), it’s vital an alert like this is taken care of for eServices to continue.

For a full list of alerts, and what they mean, see our Manual.

Alert Categories and Subscribing Users

With such a variety of alerts coming in, you likely don’t need every user to see every alert. Limit them by customizing categories and assigning categories to users.

In the Main Menu, click Setup, Alert Categories.

Open Dental’s default categories display on the left. Copy them to the right, then double-click a custom category to make edits.

Give the category a description, then highlight which alerts to include.

Finally, assign the category to a user. In the Security window, double-click the user.

The Alert Sub tab allows you to assign one or more categories to the user. Simply highlight the categories then click OK. If using clinics, you can also limit the notifications to only display for clinics assigned to the user. Now, only the items needing their attention will display.

If you have questions or need assistance with alerts, please feel free to Reach Out.