Getting started in Dentally can be overwhelming so we want to help you understand the ins and outs of the treatment plan process. After opening your treatment plan from the +1 button on the chart screen there is so much more you need to do before completing and finishing that treatment. So let's look a little deeper into how you can use Dentally's treatment plan features...

You can plan out your whole treatment plan into individual appointments using the Add Appointment button. This will add additional appointments for future work to be carried out and create Unbooked Appointments for Reception to book.

The appointment holder highlighted in blue is the appointment you will add treatments to. The duration of the work you add to these appointments will tell Reception how long the appointment needs to be. Their required appointments can be easily seen in the Appointments tab of the patients record where the reception team can easily copy them to the clipboard and put them into the calendar before the patient leaves the practice.

Video example gif below of opening and charting on additional appointments in one treatment plan 👇

Want to read more? Head over to our 'Creating a treatment plan' help article to read more on the full process

After carrying out the work for items on your treatment plan, you will need to raise a charge for these items so the reception team know exactly what the patient owes upon departure from the practice.

Creating a charge is done by ticking the items you have completed on the treatment plan and then by using the Charge button in the bottom right of the chart screen. This will create an invoice against the patient and will put them as owing money to the practice.

Remember if a patient does not pay this invoice on the day you can use Dentally's built-in automation to remind them to pay any outstanding invoices later via a payment link or through their Dentally Portal. Learn more here.

Video example gif below for creating a charge on a patient's account👇

With a treatment plan in place, you can produce an estimate and/or a consent form for the patient to review and sign with just a couple of clicks.

Estimates can be signed in surgery by the patient through Dentally iPad or can be signed in the comfort of the patient's own home with Dentally Portal, giving them time to review and read the plan in full.

Simply click the create estimate button (as demonstrated below) to open up a new estimate/consent form > choose your template > and click create! Simple as 1, 2, 3!

You will then be prompted to print the form for a physical signature however as mentioned above if you click Cancel at this point you can instead open the patient on the iPad or ask them to log into Dentally Portal and the form will be waiting for them to sign digitally.

Video example gif below of creating an estimate 👇

For more details on including or excluding specific treatment codes read the full article here.

Having the ability to clone your treatment plans can help save you time. For example, when offering patients different treatment options you can simply clone the plan and update the relevant items. Cloning can also come in handy when withdrawing or recharting an NHS or health fund claim under a new course of treatment number.

Take a look at this example video below👇 to see how you can easily clone your treatment plans...

Want to learn more about renaming and cloning treatment plans? Take a read of this detailed help article here.

Treatment plan templates provide a way of charting multiple treatments and appointments for a patient with a single click, saving you considerable time when charting complex and long treatments.

To set up a plan template you will first need to chart the procedure from start to finish including any fees/appointments along the way. Once you are happy with what has been charted simply click the Plans button in the top left of the chart and choose 'Create Template' Where you can then name the plan and even assign it to its own category. Everyone will be able to see these saved plans across the practice so it's a great way to ensure consistency across larger practices.

Video example gif below 👇

Interested in learning more about creating plan templates? Then read our full help article here.