Open Dental: PMS Setup Guide

Topic

Open Dental Setup

For

Front Office Team

Read Time

~4 minutes

A step-by-step guide to managing your in-house dental membership plan in Open Dental.

Step 1: Use the plan structure created during onboarding

Start from the plan structure you set up during onboarding with Smile Advantage as the basis for your Open Dental configuration.

Step 2: Create a fee schedule with discounted fees

Open Dental uses Fee Schedules and Discount Plans for membership pricing.

1. Go to: Lists > Fee Schedules > Add.
2. Create a fee schedule (e.g., SmileAdvantage Adult Plan).
3. Select Type: Normal.
4. Add discounted fees:
   • Set a zero or discounted fee for included procedures (e.g., D0120, D1110).
   • Apply percentage reductions for other codes (e.g., 15% off crowns).

Tip

Clone your UCR fee schedule and adjust from there for consistency.

Step 3: Set up a discount plan

Link your custom fee schedule to a Discount Plan.

1. Go to: Setup > Definitions > Discount Plans > Add.
2. Enter a Plan Description (e.g., SmileAdvantage Gold).
3. Attach your customized fee schedule.
4. Set a yearly or monthly subscription fee (informational only, fees are posted manually).
5. Add notes about included services or plan terms.

Step 4: Assign the discount plan to a patient

Enroll your patient into the Discount Plan.

1. Open the Patient Account.
2. Click on Discount Plan in the main toolbar.
3. Select the plan (e.g., SmileAdvantage Gold).
4. Set the Start/End Date (use a calendar year or a rolling 12 months).
5. Save and confirm.

Note

The system now uses the plan’s discounted fee schedule for all treatment posted during the plan dates.

Step 5: Post the membership plan fee

Track and charge the patient for the membership.

1. From the patient’s Account Module, click New Charge.
2. Post the flat fee (e.g., $299/year) using a custom procedure code (e.g., D9999, SmileAdv Plan Fee).
3. Add payment manually or set up Recurring Charges (see Step 8).

Tip

Create a custom procedure code for tracking membership sales in reports.

Step 6: Use “exploding codes” for bundled visits

Streamline common visit types using Procedure Code Bundles.

1. Go to: Setup > Procedure Codes > Add.
2. Create a new “Exploding Code” (e.g., SAAdultVisit).
3. Link all included codes (e.g., D0120, D1110, D0274).
4. When posted, each code auto-enters and uses the discount plan’s fees.

Step 7: Show value on treatment plans and receipts

Let patients see the value of their plan.

1. Go to: Setup > Module Preferences > Account.
2. Enable: Show UCR fee and discount amount on statements and treatment plans.
3. Patients will see both regular and discounted fees on walkouts, building perceived value.

Step 8: Automate monthly memberships (optional)

For monthly plan options, choose one of the following.

Option 1: Manual payments

• Post a monthly charge (e.g., $25) using a custom code.
• Manually apply patient payments each month.

Option 2: Recurring charges

• Go to: Billing > Recurring Charges.
• Set up an automatic monthly charge on the patient’s card (requires a credit card on file).
• Open Dental will auto-post charges based on your setup.

Step 9: Use patient fields or alert flags for visual tracking

Open Dental does not have icons like Eaglesoft’s Intellicare, but you can use one of these approaches.

Option 1: Use custom patient fields

• Go to: Setup > Definitions > Fields > Patient Fields.
• Add a field (e.g., Membership Plan Tier).
• Track plan tier (Gold, Platinum, etc.) directly in patient info.

Option 2: Use patient alerts

• Set a custom alert that pops up when opening the chart or scheduling.

Step 10: Run reports to track plan usage and performance

Track membership effectiveness, usage, and production with these key reports:

• Procedure Code Usage: review the frequency of plan-covered services.
• Production and Income Reports: filter by provider and date.
• Patient Report by Discount Plan: custom queries may be needed (contact support).

Bonus tips

• Use “D9999, Membership Add-On” for extra visits that are not included.
• Clone and update fee schedules yearly to reflect any pricing changes.
• Export plan patients using Query: helpful for renewal campaigns or email reminders.
• Consider assigning plan subscribers to a custom billing type to separate them from traditional insured patients.

Access the Open Dental PMS setup guide

Related guides

• PMS Setup Guide (universal overview)
• Tracking Doctor Payments in Multi-Doctor Practices