The Power of Dentrix Passwords

It always surprises me when an office tells me they haven’t set up passwords in Dentrix. Passwords are important for several reasons:

  1. They reduce the risk of inappropriate people accessing your database.
  2. They allow the office to limit access to specific team members.
  3. They let the office track who’s making changes to appointments, procedures, etc.
  4. They allow access to the time clock.

Passwords Can End Up Protecting Staff Members

Passwords should be unique for each person in the practice and nobody should know anyone else’s password, including the doctor. Team members should close Dentrix modules on their computer when they leave their office to avoid someone else posting or changing things under their password.

There is an option in the password setup to have the system “re-verify” the user. Offices should use this for anything they want to track. That way, if someone leaves their station without closing out and a different team member starts using Dentrix at that station, a “re-verify password” screen pops up. Most offices re-verify changes to the Ledger (payments, adjustments, etc), but it’s customizable so every office can decide for themselves.

They Can Help Keep Your Day Organized

One of my favorite things passwords do is automatically link the office journal entries to the person making the entry. At the end of the day, team members can run their office journal for the day to see how many phone calls they made or how many items are on their to-do list.

They Can Save Time

Some offices worry that entering passwords will slow down their day. But if they are set up right, passwords can actually make the day go smoother. One office experienced a new hire inadvertently deleting off the entire batch processor in the Office Manager. A simple tweak to the passwords would have blocked the new hire’s access to delete in the batch and would’ve prevented a lot of busy work for the office manager. Another office mentioned that they like knowing who made the last change to patients’ appointments.

If you haven’t ever set up and used passwords before, it’s important to call Dentrix Support (1.800.336.8749 ) or work with a trainer to make sure it’s done correctly.


Learn More

If you found these ideas helpful, you may be interested in learning more about the Dentrix Profitability Coaching Program, where these, and many other great concepts, strategies and ideas are taught to you and your team by one of our highly skilled and experienced profitability coaches.


By Jeri Sorenson-Amato, Henry Schein Practice Consultant