Open Dental Review (2025)
Open-source dental practice management software
Our Verdict
Best choice for budget-conscious, tech-savvy practices. If you have an IT resource and care about data ownership, Open Dental is worth serious consideration.
Rating Breakdown
Quick Specs
- Deployment
- Server
- Starting Price
- $200/mo
- Pricing Note
- Monthly support fee. Software is open-source and free to use.
✓ Pros
- ✓Lowest licensing cost of any full-featured dental software
- ✓Open-source: full access to source code and database
- ✓Feature-complete: scheduling, charting, billing, imaging bridge
- ✓Large active community of users and customizers
- ✓Excellent database transparency — easy to export your data
- ✓No vendor lock-in — your data is truly yours
✕ Cons
- ✕Steeper learning curve than commercial alternatives
- ✕Requires server setup and IT maintenance
- ✕UI is functional but dated
- ✕Support is community-driven; official support is a paid subscription
- ✕Not ideal for practices without tech-comfortable staff
Best For
- →Tech-savvy practices that want control over their software
- →Cost-conscious practices on a tight budget
- →Dental schools and community health centers
- →Practices with a dedicated IT resource
In-Depth Analysis
Open Dental is the only major dental practice management software that's open-source. That means the code is publicly available, the database is standard MySQL, and you're never locked into a vendor's pricing decisions or end-of-life timelines.
The cost story is compelling. The software itself is free to download and use. Open Dental charges a monthly support fee (around $200/mo) for access to their support team, updates, and eServices (electronic claims, ERA, etc.). For a small practice, that's significantly less than Dentrix or Eaglesoft.
Who thrives with Open Dental: Practices with a tech-comfortable dentist or office manager, dental schools (huge user base here), community health centers that need cost efficiency and data transparency, and practices that have had a bad experience with vendor lock-in.
The honest tradeoff: Open Dental's UI looks like it was designed in 2012 because, well, it mostly was. It works, and experienced users navigate it efficiently, but the learning curve for new staff is real. Training takes longer than with Curve or tab32.
The community advantage: The Open Dental user forum is one of the best in dental software. Thousands of active users share custom scripts, bridge solutions, and workflow tips. This is genuinely valuable in a way that closed commercial software can't match.
Data ownership: Your database is yours. Standard MySQL. You can query it directly, build custom reports, and migrate to any system without begging a vendor for your own data. That's rare and valuable.
Ready to See Open Dental in Action?
Visit the Open Dental website to learn more and request pricing.
Visit Open Dental Website →