Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for orthodontic clinics.
A checklist built from how orthodontic clinics work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Adjustment visit diary
- Case record and treatment stage
- Photographs, scans and X-rays
- Appliance and aligner orders
- Fees and monthly payment plans
- Retainer and recall list
- Clinician share and reports
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For the clinic owner
- For orthodontists
- At the front desk
- For assistants
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Active cases by stage and clinician
- Collections by clinician and period
- Balances due on payment plans
- Appliance orders out, due and received
- Patients overdue for an adjustment
- Retention checks due after debonding
- Archwires and elastics to reorder, with items near expiry
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- WhatsApp or other messaging
- SMS
- Card and bank transfer payments
- Accounting software export
- Barcode or label printer
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Is it orthodontic software or general dental software?
- Can it follow a case across many adjustment visits?
- Does it handle clear aligner orders?
- Can families pay in instalments?
- Can it store photographs and scans?
- Does it manage retention checks?
- Can records move from our current system?
- Can we take our patient files with us if we leave?
- What does it cost?
- Is a two-chair practice too small for it?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Cases lose their place
- Appliance orders are chased by phone
- Monthly payments are tracked by hand
- Records and photographs are scattered
- Retention checks are not scheduled
Prefer to talk it through? See the orthodontic clinics page.