an in-depth look at why mac users are making the switch to

Dentrix Ascend with MacAn in-depth look at why Mac Users are making the switch

to Dentrix Ascend for their practice management solution.

Table of Contents

Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................2

How is Dentrix Ascend Finding a Home with the Mac DDS?

Interconnectivity .................................................................................................................................................3

Ease of use ............................................................................................................................................................4

a) Intuitiveness ................................................................................................................................................4

b) Simplicity of design .................................................................................................................................5

c) Smart design ................................................................................................................................................7

Accessibility ...........................................................................................................................................................8

Easy Updates .......................................................................................................................................................8

The Right Technology Can Reduce Your Stress ..........................................................10

DENTRIX ASCEND WITH MAC | 1

2 | DENTRIX ASCEND WITH MAC

Introduction

Who are Mac Users? What do they like? And how

is Dentrix Ascend finding a home with the Mac

DDS? The Mac DDS has faced major challenges

when it comes to a practice management

software living up to the expected standards in

computing and accessibility. Dentrix Ascend is

bridging the gap between home and work when

it comes to dental practice management.

A lot of the answers to these challenges also

apply to PC Users who might be surprised by how

much they have in common these days with Mac

Users and by how readily Dentrix Ascend can

work with either Macs, PCs or both.

Who are Mac Users? A Mac User is anyone who uses Apple products

like iMac desktops, Macbooks, iPads, iPhones,

and Apple watches. Of course there are varying

levels of Mac Users. There are the “all-in” users

who have one of every product and will only buy

Apple products.

On the other end of the spectrum is the casual

user, like the iPad owner who bought it because

it is easy for her kids to use. The “middle of the

road” user has one or two Apple products and

enjoys how well all their products seem to link

together and share data. Because Apple products

are all made by the same company they all exist

in the same ecosystem and have seamless

integration between the products.


How is Dentrix Ascend Finding a Home with the Mac DDS?

Before answering that, let’s think about why Mac

Users love Macs so much. There are many reasons

why—from impressive interconnectivity to ease of

use, a high level of accessibility and easy updating.

Dentrix Ascend endeavors to fulfill those same

qualities, filling the void that the Mac DDS has

frustratingly encountered. So how do they compare?

InterconnectivityApple has been a pioneer when it comes to a cloud-

based system where everything communicates and

works together. My desktop, laptop, iPad, iPhone and

watch all share the same calendars, emails, contacts,

and photos if I choose to link them. Just for clarity,

cloud computing is internet-based computing where

the servers and data are stored and serviced at an

offsite location, but are accessed via the internet,

on demand, by users through a secure connection.

Cloud computing has given us the ability to get

information quickly and securely from our devices

at any location, as well as the ability for our devices

to share information with each other. I can take a

picture on my phone and within a few moments I

can view it on my laptop. Gone are the days when I

needed to plug my phone into my laptop to transfer

these items. With a few more clicks I can share the

same photo on Facebook or text it to my friends.

Interconnectivity has been a major struggle for

practice management software from the beginning.

Until the advent of the cloud, the ability to access

most practice management products on the market

from home was not possible without remote access

software. Most practice management products that

keep patient data, accounts and schedules are

housed on in-office servers, which are on a closed

network that can only be accessed from in the office.


Part of me thinks leaving my computer and

information at the office is a great thing! However,

in this day and age that is not reality. Here is a

common scenario: A patient calls after hours

and needs an emergency appointment in the

morning. With Dentrix Ascend I can log in from

my home laptop or iPad and pull up my calendar.

Not only can I view the schedule but I can also

interact with it and the entirety of Dentrix Ascend.

Individuals access the internet using all kinds

of devices, not just Macs. Just like my Apple

products all play nicely and connect well with

each other, Dentrix Ascend plays nicely with

everyone. Dentrix Ascend actually takes

interconnectivity to the next level because I

have Macs working in harmony with PCs!

I am no longer strictly a Mac User or PC User. I

now have flexibility of choice because in order for

everything to work, all I need is an internet browser.

Beyond that, I am no longer tethered to a desktop

or a laptop. I can use a tablet or an iPad. If I am

on vacation and need to log in to my office, I can

use my sister’s PC to see my schedule, access my

reports, even catch up on my clinical notes.

In the office, I can use my Macbook or iMac to run

my practice but when I want to generate reports

or schedule something outside of normal business

hours, I can use my iPad, PC, Surface tablet or any

other supported device to connect to my practice.

It’s all about having flexibility of choice.

Ease of useApple products are easy to use. Why? What

makes a product easy to use?

a) Intuitiveness

It used to be that whenever we were learning

something new, it could be a challenge to figure

out where to start. However, with touchscreens and

helpful pop-up guides, beginning on a new product

can be more like a game than a drawn out process.

When you think: “Where would I put that?” and

then discover it is exactly where the designer has

placed the desired item - That is intuitive.

Because Mac users do not like to go “digging”

through three or four file menus to find a solution,

Dentrix Ascend labels are simple and to the point.

A drop-down menu on the blue ribbon is as far

as we need to go.

Everything you need to set up your practice is

in the Settings drop-menu. This menu is broken

down into three categories to help you find what

setup item you are looking for faster.

Drop-down menu on the blue ribbon


There are pop up messages that appear the

first time you login after an update, giving a

quick overview of the features that have been

added to the product. If you do not have time

to view the new features at that moment they

pocket away in a question mark symbol in the

bottom left corner of your screen for quick

access later.

b) Simplicity of design

To Apple, screen space is a precious commodity.

Nothing is placed on the screen unless it is needed.

This leads to a very clean design. Many of their

menus can be hidden away once you have used

them to return to that uncluttered look.

With iPhones, iPads and Watches there are no

right-click, left-click, and double-click options

just single-click options or buttons, such as the

log in button.

Even Apple laptops and desktops are moving

away from the left, right, and double-click.

Trackpads and the Apple Mouse have opened up

a whole host of gesture options that act more like

the touchscreen interface of the iPad or iPhone

versus a traditional mouse.

Like the design of Apple products, with Dentrix

Ascend nothing is placed on the screen unless

it needs to be there. And even those things that

are needed can be hidden away after use to

keep the screen uncluttered. Dentrix Ascend

Patient Routing panel is a perfect example of this

concept at work.

The Patient Routing panel is a digital route slip

that enables users to progress patients through

their appointment from Arrival to Checkout.

This tool is available on every screen of Dentrix

Ascend. However, because of its incognito

appearance, you would not know it was there

until someone opened it up. See the little grey

arrow to the right? Yes, that is the routing panel,

pocketed away, but when I open it up I am able

to move my patient all the way through their

appointment from arrival to completion.

Log in

Log in

Patient Routing Tab with hiding function Patient Routing Panel

6 | MULTISITE BEST PRACTICES

The Patient Overview is the next element that

really highlights not only simplicity of design

but wealth of information. The Patient Overview

screen is a comprehensive snapshot of a patient.

It includes seven interactive widgets that show a

snapshot of all the categories one would typically

review before talking to a patient.

These seven widgets at a glance give me

Appointment, Recare, Insurance, Medical Alerts,

Ledger, Treatment Plan, Referral and Notes for

each patient. If I desire more detail, it is just one

click away.

The Practice Overview like the Patient Overview

is a comprehensive snapshot of the health of

my practice.

There are nine widgets on the Practice Overview

screen giving you up-to-date information on

• Unattached Procedures,

• Unsent Claims,

• Unresolved Claims,

• Unconfirmed Appointments,

• Unscheduled Recare,

• Insurance,

• A/R Overview,

• Insurance A/R Problematic Payers,

• Unsigned Clinical Notes (Providers View only)

These nine Widgets represent nine reports I do

not have to run on a daily/weekly or monthly

basis. The Patient Overview helps me to stay on

Patient Overview


top of all of these items, so not only is it efficient

but it saves me money. When a user logs in, the

Practice Overview is the screen that appears.

If I were to log in to my practice and see $15,000

worth of unattached procedures to claims, I would

start asking some questions. I may discover that

we just need to review our checkout and filing

process. Just like in the patient overview all of

these widgets are interactive so I can get to work

on these items without delay.

Practice Overview


c) Smart Design

A great deal of thought has gone into Apple

products and how people will use them in their

daily life. Let’s say you are looking at a menu for a

restaurant on your iPhone, and there is a number

for the restaurant on the webpage. If you select

the number your iPhone will ask if you would like

to call that number. If you select call, the phone

app opens and dials the number.

I know that today we all take logical features like

this for granted, no matter what device we are

using, but 10 years ago when the iPhone was

introduced this was mind blowing!

Let’s take a closer look at the Patient Routing

Panel in Dentrix Ascend again to see how there

has been logic built into its design to minimize

clutter and only give you the information needed

in that phase of the appointment.

When a patient has a status of “Arriving,” their status

card shows their name, picture, birthdate, medical

alerts, appointment reason, how many broken or

no show appointments they have and their phone

number, in case I need to contact them.

If the patient is late, I have all the information I

need to call them. If the patient is in the waiting

room, the picture helps identify them and the

status can be changed to “Here.”

In the “Here” status, the information card changes.

It keeps the patient name, picture, birthdate,

medical alerts, and appointment reason, but adds

their current address, and email address, so the

front desk can verify the information is correct.

In addition, this card gives check boxes to mark

the appointment as “Needs Follow up” and

“Premedicate.” If the patient mentions something

to the front desk person when checking in,

there is an option to mark down this information.

The appointment note box is also active so if a

note needs to be added for the clinical staff, it

is available. The last addition, which continues

through all the patient status, is a tracker that

shows how long my patient remained in each

status. It also has a total column that indicates

how long my patient has been in the office.

This theme of only providing the needed

information helps reduce clutter and saves time

because, starting with my front desk person and

moving through the appointment, no staff member

is reading through unneeded information.

AccessibilityWith my Apple products, I can be as connected

as I want to be. My phone is in my pocket; I can

look up anything anytime. My watch on my wrist

Patient Routing Panel ("Arriving" status) Patient Routing Panel ("Here" status)


gives me calendar reminders and notifications,

and it will even link to the driving directions on my

phone and vibrate when I’m supposed to turn. To

achieve a high level of accessibility, all I need to

be connected is a data signal.

Likewise, wherever there is good internet access,

I can utilize Ascend. No matter the device—Mac,

PC, tablet or phone—I can access my office. Power

and internet are the keys to being connected to my

practice anytime and anywhere. The internet never

closes, so if I want to check a report at 2 a.m. I can.

Easy UpdatesMac Users are comfortable updating their products.

Many just set updates to occur automatically at

night, and they wake up to the new updates. They

are used to their products getting better over time

and do not resist change.

As with Apple products, a lot of thought goes into

how Users will interact with Dentrix Ascend. Where

do these programmers get their ideas? How do they

decide what features should be in the next update?

User feedback! As a Dentrix Ascend user, you

have access to User Forums and User Voice.

User Forums are discussion boards where Users

post questions and concerns about Dentrix Ascend

and can get feedback from other Users, trainers

and the development team. The discussions help

developers and other Users become aware of

items that need attention. If they don’t know about

an issue, they can’t fix it.

User Forums are also a great place to find an

alternate solution. At times an office posts a

concern or question and another User who had

the same problem posts a solution. It may not be

in the same direction that the original user was

looking, but it gets them the result they want.

Dentrix Ascend Users are a community and are all

facing similar work-related problems. User Forums

are a resource accessible at any time where ideas

are discussed and solutions found.

User Voice is a website where Dentrix Ascend

Users can suggest a feature. They can also see

suggestions that other offices have made. If they

like the suggestion, they can vote for it. The

features with the most votes are moved up in

priority and the programmers focus on making

those happen.

These updates happen approximately every

three weeks; professionals install updates on the

servers without Users needing to do anything.

When an update occurs, individual Users receive

a pop-up message with a list of new features

when they log in. They can choose to check out

the features at that time or dismiss the message

and come back at a more convenient time.

As you can see, Dentrix Ascend is working hard to

bridge the gap for Mac Users and PC Users to have

fully accessible, cloud-based practice management

software. Apple products are great. Mac Users

love the ease of use, the simple, intuitive and

smart design, the accessibility and security.

Dentrix Ascend capitalizes on the same concepts,

starting with a simple graphical interface to make

it an ideal companion however it is accessed.

Moreover, Dentrix Ascend is a living, breathing

software that gets updated about every three

weeks, I’m sure it already does a lot of new things

your old software cannot.

Improving rapidly to continually meet Users’ needs,

with User input and a lot of thought going into

every aspect. Because when everything works and

coordinates together easily, it makes my working

day in or out of the dentist office simpler.

PRODUCT UPDATEAPRIL 18TH, 2017

Update Dialog Popup


While practicing dentistry can be stressful, it

doesn’t have to be. If you’re feeling burnt out

and overwhelmed, it might be time to think about

investing in technologies that are designed to

make you more efficient, as well as manage or

even eliminate the more stressful aspects of

running a dental practice. Cloud-based practice

management, CAD/CAM and cone beam

technology are all examples of technologies that

reduce stress from your life, allowing you to focus

on the reason you became a dentist in the first

place: to treat patients.

The Right Technology Can Reduce Your Stress

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About the Author

Amy Daniels graduated with a B.A. in communications in 2002. She

started working in the dental field in 2004 and has been a certified

Dentrix trainer for eight years. Amy holds additional certifications in

Dentrix Ascend, Easy Dental and is a Practice Development Program

specialist. It is Amy’s goal to tailor her training to individual offices.

Besides showing an office what their software is capable of, she seeks

to find how the software can be customized to best fit and office’s

particular needs. Amy recently received the 2017 Spirt of Dentrix award

for her service working with offices and pilot programs.

C-DTXA-MAC-Q417

www.DentrixAscend.com

1.855.232.9493

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