When speaking with an office administrator or dental office owner about being a paperless dental office, one of the first questions I ask is “What does being a paperless dental office mean for you?”. With this concept having been around for years, many dental offices in today’s day-and-age are becoming paperless from the get-go or making the switch as they see the numerous advantages such a solution provides.

But what does being a “paperless dental office” really mean?

A paperless dental office is simply one in which the use of paper is eliminated, or greatly reduced, by converting existing information contained on paper into a digital format. In dentistry, this means being “chartless.” Essentially, while paper documents could still be used for some instances such as outside communication and information shared (incoming and outgoing), the majority of patient information including charts, images, and treatment plans are stored digitally.

“Going paperless is a process, not an event.”

Becoming a paperless dental office is not something that can be done overnight; it takes time to convert paper files, but with the right dental software provider such as ADSTRA, it will be easy to do. Additionally, setting targets and taking the steps necessary to reach each milestone is a way to keep the process on track and your expectations achievable.

Switching to digital charting, clinical notes, and emailing patients various type of documents from appointment reminders to bills, to claims and financial statements – are all changes that can be made when converting to a paperless dental office. However, to ensure the transition is smooth and that you are optimizing your dental software to best suit your new paperless dental office, make sure your dental software provider is supporting you with adequate training along the way, which is something ADSTRA excels at doing for their users.

In deciding to make the switch, take a moment to analyze your current business processes to determine what you are storing digitally and which processes you are still resorting to paper for.

Here is a list of the most common dental office processes:

Patient Information	Appointments
Bills & Payments	Payment Plans
Insurance Claims	Treatment Plans
Clinical Notes	Odontograms
Camera and X-ray Images	Patient Communication
Referrals to Specialists	Daily Reports
Patient Statements	Year-End Reports

For those paper-based processes, verify whether they can be completed through your current dental software. If your software does have any of these capabilities, arrange some training and take the first steps to become a paperless dental office.

If your software does not have the capabilities you are looking for, it may be time to make a switch to another software provider such as ADSTRA Dental Software which offers both an on-premise as well as a cloud-based solution that will meet and exceed your expectations for becoming a paperless dental office, as well as help take the stress out of this process.

With ADSTRA it is possible to send Email and SMS appointment confirmations and reminders to patients, convert documents that come in, store them electronically by patient, as well as do all of the dental office processes listed above, providing a convenient solution for your paperless dental office needs.

Being a paperless dental office is the way of the future. Several advantages come from implementing and converting to such a solution. With this, take the steps to become a paperless dental office by using ADSTRA in your practice!

Box the last of your charts and documents. Truly utilize your paperless dental office!