Open Dental

What to ask for

Send this to the office. It is written for someone who works in Open Dental every day, so there is nothing for you to translate.

• Imaging Module: export each document and image with the Export button, in its original format (Export TIFF for TIFF originals; DICOM exports as the original file).
• Perio: print each perio chart to PDF. If the numbers are needed as data, run a perio query from Query Examples in User Query and Export .csv.
• Chart Module: Show tab → All, then Print, saved as a PDF (the progress notes, with procedures and clinical notes).
• Chart Module → CCD → Export to File: the Continuity of Care Document (XML).
• Forms and treatment plans: Create PDF from the Fill Sheet window, or export the stored PDF from the Imaging Module.
• Lab results: ask the office how they export them. The Continuity of Care Document includes lab results if any were entered.

Where it is in Open Dental

Each of these produces one part of the record. The office does not need to do all of them — only the ones you asked for above.

1. 1

   Documents (scans, letters, forms, imported files)

   Path

   Imaging Module → select the patient → click the file in the tree (categories are folders) → Export in the Images toolbar → choose a folder. One file at a time. On Open Dental Cloud, Image Info → Export downloads the file through the browser or the ODCloudClient.

   Produces

   "Export the selected file to another location on the computer or network. If an image is selected on a mount, only the selected image is exported. If the image is a TIFF file, it is exported as a JPEG. Other files are exported in their original file format." Single-page scans are JPEG, multi-page scans are PDF. On disk, files are named LastnameFirstname plus a number; the date and description live in Image Info, not in the file.

   Choose

   Export, not Print. Use the dropdown → Export TIFF for TIFF originals. If a printout is wanted, Image Info → Print Heading adds the patient’s name, birthdate and image date to the page.

   Open Dental manual: Imaging Module

2. 2

   Images and X-rays

   Path

   Imaging Module → select the image (on a mount, click the individual image) → Export in the Images toolbar (or the dropdown → Export TIFF).

   Produces

   The original file: JPEG, PNG, BMP or GIF as stored; TIFF converted to JPEG unless Export TIFF is used; "Exported DICOM images reflect the original file, and no edits (i.e., drawings, rotation, etc.) are included." The vendor does not state the exported file’s name; the image date lives in Image Info. "Printing an image with a type of Radiograph includes a header with patient and mount information."

   Choose

   The original (DICOM, or TIFF via Export TIFF) over JPEG, and JPEG over a printout. If the office’s sensor software (Dexis, Carestream) holds the originals through a bridge, ask which program has them.

   Open Dental manual: Imaging Module

3. 3

   Periodontal chart (printout)

   Path

   Chart Module → Perio Chart (up to six of the most recent exams display; earlier exams are grayed out) → Print ("Print the perio chart as it appears on the screen") → choose a PDF printer (Printer Setup must be set to Prompt, or a PDF printer set as the default). Or Save to Images ("Save the current perio chart to the Images module, Tooth Charts folder, named by date"), then export that file. The Graphical view has the same Print and Save to Images.

   Produces

   A printout or image of the perio grid with the exam dates. Whether the patient’s name prints on the page is not stated.

   Choose

   Print to PDF for the readable copy; the User Query route below for the numbers as data.

   Open Dental manual: Perio Chart

4. 4

   Perio measurements and other data as CSV (User Query)

   Path

   Reports → User Query (needs the User Query permission) → run a query: the Query Examples library ("more than 1000 queries") includes perio exam queries, and "for a fee, Open Dental Support can create a custom query" → Submit Query → Export .csv ("a comma-delimited CSV file") or Export .txt (tab-delimited).

   Produces

   A .csv or .txt in the OpenDentalExports folder with the columns the query selects. The patient’s name and the dates are in it only if the query selects them.

   Choose

   CSV. Have the office use a query from the library or from Open Dental Support rather than write one at the desk.

   Open Dental manual: User Query

5. 5

   Treatment history and clinical notes (Progress Notes printout)

   Path

   Chart Module → Show tab → All (check Audit to include deleted items) → Print in the Chart toolbar → confirm at the preview → pick "Microsoft Print to PDF, Adobe PDF, or a similar available option". Or right-click in the Progress Notes grid → Print Progress Notes.

   Produces

   A PDF of the progress notes. "Each page of the printed notes include the patient name, ChartNumber (if any), and page number." Each row carries its date, provider, tooth, surface, code, description and note. Vendor caveat: "Progress Notes (e.g., procedure notes, etc.) are not included on a CCD and are not available in the Patient Portal by default."

   Choose

   This is the only route that includes the written notes. Pair it with the CCD for the structured list.

   Open Dental: Providing access to patient records

6. 6

   Continuity of Care Document (CCD)

   Path

   Chart Module → CCD in the toolbar → Export to File ("Click to export the CCD as an XML and XSL file. Both files export to the location selected by the user."). Show and Print opens the Summary of Care window instead. If the patient’s problems lack SNOMED CT codes, a warning displays.

   Produces

   ccd.xml plus a .xsl stylesheet. Patient information (name, birthday, sex, race, ethnicity, language) is inside, and each entry is dated. Sections: allergies, encounters, immunizations, medications, problems, procedures (completed and existing, not treatment planned), diagnostic results (lab results with LOINC codes), social history, vital signs. Progress notes and images are not included.

   Choose

   Export to File. Keep both files together; the .xsl lets a browser display the .xml.

   Open Dental manual: CCD

7. 7

   Health summary as XML (EHR Patient Export)

   Path

   Reports → Standard Reports → EHR Pat Export ("Only available when EHR is enabled in Show Features": Setup → Advanced Setup → Show Features → EHR) → filter by first name, last name or PatNum → Search → highlight the patient, or Select All → Export Selected → choose the folder. A completion message lists any patients it skipped.

   Produces

   One XML file per patient. "Exported files are saved in XML format to a folder with the export date (e.g., 2022_8_15 ...). Each file is named using Last Name, First Name, and PatNum (e.g., Smith_John_1524)." Only people whose status is Patient are included, and the export is refused with a warning if a code system or a provider’s NPI is missing.

   Choose

   Worth asking for only at an office that already runs with EHR turned on. The Chart Module’s CCD carries the same class of data with no setup.

   Open Dental manual: EHR Patient Export

8. 8

   Treatment plan

   Path

   Treatment Plan Module → highlight the saved treatment plan → Print TP. "If selecting a saved treatment plan that has been saved to the Imaging Module, a PDF viewer opens." PDF copies of printed, emailed or signed plans are stored in the image category for Treatment Plans (signed ones only if "Save signed Treatment Plans to PDF" is on) and export from the Imaging Module.

   Produces

   A PDF of the plan.

   Choose

   Export the stored PDF from the Imaging Module when there is one; it keeps the signed version.

   Open Dental manual: Treatment Plan Module

9. 9

   EOBs (scanned explanations of benefits)

   Path

   Manage Module → Batch Ins → double-click the insurance check → Insurance Payment (EOB) window → View → select the EOB → Export ("Export the selected EOB file to another location on the computer or network").

   Produces

   The scanned image or PDF as stored. EOBs are stored with the insurance payment, not the patient, so one file may cover several patients; the office should check it before sending.

   Open Dental manual: Scan EOB

10. 10

    Patient forms (consents, medical history, registration)

    Path

    Main Toolbar → Forms → double-click the row → Fill Sheet window → Create PDF ("Click to save the form as a PDF"), or Print or Email. Forms already saved as PDF are in the Imaging Module; export them there.

    Produces

    A PDF of the completed sheet.

    Open Dental manual: Fill Sheet

11. 11

    Lab cases (crowns, dentures)

    Path

    Chart Module → LabCase → open the case → New Slip or Edit Slip → the Lab Slip window → Create PDF, Print or Email. "If an Image Category has been assigned to LabCases, a PDF copy of a Lab Slip is saved to the Imaging Module when printed, emailed, or created as a PDF."

    Produces

    A lab slip PDF: lab, instructions and the sent, received and quality-checked dates. Lab cases hold no result values.

    Open Dental manual: Edit Lab Case

What the office has to ask Open Dental Software for

These cannot be exported from the software itself. If you need them, say so early — the vendor is a second queue.

• On Open Dental Cloud, the image folder is not stored locally, so anything beyond the in-app Export and Print buttons goes through Open Dental support.
• A custom query for data the reports do not cover: Open Dental Support writes one for a fee.
• Medical lab results entered through the EHR feature: no print or export of an individual result is documented beyond the CCD’s diagnostic results section.

You may be able to get some of it yourself

If the office has turned on the Patient Portal, you can view, download or transmit the Continuity of Care Document, download statements, and download PDFs and images the office has placed in a folder shared to the portal; progress notes are not there by default.