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New COVID-19 related CDT codes added.

During its March 11-12, 2021 Annual Meeting, the ADA Code Maintenance Committee (CMC) approved 8 new COVID-19 related procedure codes for inclusion in its 2021 CDT codes list.


These codes have now been added to Open Dental in stable version 20.5.39 (and beta version 21.1.14) and greater. 
Update your software, then update your CDT codes to get these new codes.
Newsletter Contents
New Feature Highlights
Software Update: Version 20.5 has been released as Stable, implementing 16 features requested by our users. 
For the full list of new features by version, please visit the versions page in our manual.
New Features in Stable Version 20.5 include the following.
Major Features:
  • New Paint Types for more detail on the tooth chart
    • Text: Any custom text can be added to a procedure code
    • Retained Root: Displays a graphic for a retained root
    • Space Maintainer: Displays a space maintainer on missing teeth
  • Appointment Calendar Buttons to jump forward by 3, 4, or 6 months.
    Scheduling Recall? Use the  button on the Appointment Toolbar instead.
  • Discount Plans can have subscriber-level effective and term dates. These will also show on the Discount Plans Report.
New eServices Features
  • Mass Email: User Query results can now be used as your recipient list.
  • Web Forms Alert: When there are Web Forms ready to retrieve, an alert will display in red on the main menu.
New Appointment Module Features
  • The Confirmation List has a new Group Families option which sends one confirmation request for the whole family instead of one to each individual family member. We also created new message templates for family messages.
New Family Module Features
  • Until now, the Same for Entire Family checkbox was checked by default, carrying over the phone number and home address of the guarantor to other family members.
    You can now set this to be unchecked by default in Setup> Family/Insurance> Family Preferences.
New Account Module Features
  • Sales Tax can be applied automatically!
    Set items to Is Taxed and set sales tax percentage. When these items are set complete, a sales tax adjustment is automatically created. See more in our manual.
  • Declined cards are automatically set inactive with a new Account Module Preference.
  • The Income Transfer Manager can be run as of a certain date.
New Chart Module Features
  • Adding rows to Ortho Chart will prompt for date and provider. 
  • Appearance Change: Chart Module tabs for Missing Teeth and Primary have been combined into one tab called Missing/Primary.
New Imaging Module Features
  • Accidentally imported an image or document into the wrong patient? No problem!
    These can be moved to another patient using an Export option in the Imaging toolbar.
  • New imaging module preferences in Setup> Imaging > Imaging Preferences.
    • Set default import folders.
    • Set PDFs to always display in a separate PDF viewer.
  • Automatically import multiple images at once from a path you select. See the steps on our Imaging Module manual page.
  • Support for Intraoral and radiograph images. To use these features, you will first need to set up your Imaging Devices.

Please Note:
Intraoral and radiograph images will increase the size of your OpenDentImages folder. 
Ensure you have a robust data backup and recovery system in place.

New Sheets-Related Features
  • Treatment planned procedures can be included in Consent Forms and Lab Slips. These sheets must contain the treatmentPlanProcs or treatmentPlanProcsPriority static text fields
  • A statement number can be added to a Statement Sheet using the Output Text FieldStatementNum.
     See our playlist on customizing sheets.
  • You can now override the default values for checkbox and radio buttons and use different words for common importable fields like gender and marital status. For more on checkboxes and radio buttons, please see our manual.
  • Custom sheets can be associated with statements, invoices, and receipts. Click on the Defaults button in the Sheets window to set these up.

Please Note:
If you were already using a custom sheet for your statements, you will need to set the default sheet again after you update to version 20.5.

New Certifications Tool
  • You can now create and track Certifications for employee training. Learn how to set up and manage Certifications on our manual page.
Features for multi-location practices

See more details in our 20.5 version highlights blog post.

In Beta Version 21.1
  • New Discount Plan features including the ability to set frequency limitations, set a maximum discount amount, and add subscriber level notes and plan notes.
  • A new column can be added to treatment plans to show estimated taxes.
  • Treatment Planned procedures can be associated with Dynamic Payment Plans. 
  • Commlogs can include links to outside sources or other places within the program.
Stable vs. Beta Version - which is right for you?
Find out which software update option is right for your practice, and learn how to update.

NOTE:  eClipboard & Open Dental Mobile users should not update to 21.1 (beta) at this time.

Announcements and Helpful Information

5 Tools to Boost Efficiency and Productivity

With more on your plate than ever before, here are five types of tools you can start using today to boost efficiency and productivity.
 

Why does my patient have a balance? And other Account Questions.

When there is a balance on a patient account, you want to be able to quickly determine where the balance is coming from, and collect the correct amount from your patient. In this post, we’ll look at why your patient may have a balance, as well as other account questions that may come up as you manage patient accounts.

Breaking Down Patient Statements

Sending patient statements is vital in the Collections process. In this post, we’ll break down patient statements and how you can manage them to increase collections.

Take Note: Notes in Open Dental

There are many ways to take notes in Open Dental. In this post, we’ll discuss creating templates,  recording clinical notes, notes on patient communication, accounting, security, and more!

Our Favorite Appointment View Fields

Learn more about Appointment View Fields will help your staff quickly see the most pertinent information to manage appointments quickly and efficiently.
Tips & Tricks
We love sharing tips & tricks with you!
Our QuickTip Videos walk you through a specific process in Open Dental in just a few minutes. Check out all our QuickTip videos in this playlist.

 Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and turn on notifications to get updates each time we post a new video.
Highlighted Partners & Supplemental Services

Not All online Backup Service Partners are Created Equally.

HIPAA compliant businesses need HIPAA compliant online backup solutions. Learn the key considerations when selecting an online backup service partner.

5 Steps to Better Dental Reviews

Dental reviews allow your patients to share their experience, which has a direct impact on your local online search results. Learn how to get better dental reviews with these 5 steps in this post.

How to Supercharge Your Hygiene Department

Top-performing practices are focusing on their hygiene department and seeing significant growth as a result. Learn how with the tips in this post.
Get to Know Us
Several of the wonderful Clinical experts at Open Dental used to be Dental Assistants! Together, they bring close to 70 years of dental expertise to the team. Here are their likenesses, courtesy of another talented team member, Lany.
Top row left to right: Cody, Amber F., Chelsea, and Julie
Bottom row left to right: Amber R., Jennifer, Annie, and Jenny
Can a common artificial sweetener treat gum disease?
ErythritolImageUsing an air-polishing powder containing erythritol during nonsurgical periodontal treatment may result in positive outcomes for patients.
Read more in this article on DrBicuspid.com.
Copyright © 2021 Open Dental Software, All rights reserved.


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