In this guide, I’m going to walk you through:

• How to add a new insurance plan in Dentrix
• How to attach it to a patient
• What each field actually means
• The most common mistakes to avoid

Step 1: Open the Patient’s Family File

Start by selecting your patient and opening the Family File.

From there:

• Double-click the Primary Dental Insurance block

This opens the Insurance Information window, where you’ll:

• View existing insurance
• Add new plans
• Attach insurance to the patient

Step 2: Always Search Before Creating a New Plan

Before adding anything new, always search for an existing plan first.

Click the carrier search (two arrows) to open your insurance database.

Best way to search:

• Use the Group Number (fastest and most accurate)

Why this matters:

• Duplicate plans create confusion
• Claims can get sent to the wrong plan
• Your system gets cluttered fast

👉 If the plan already exists → select it and click OK
👉 If not → create a new one

Step 3: Create a New Insurance Plan

Click New to enter a new plan.

Here’s what actually matters:

Carrier Name

The insurance company (ex: Delta Dental, Aetna)

Group Plan Name

Usually tied to:

• Employer name
• Specific plan name

This helps you quickly identify the correct plan when multiple exist under the same carrier.

Employer

Linking the employer is a small step that saves time later.

If multiple patients work for the same company, you can:

• Quickly assign the correct plan
• Keep things consistent across charts

Contact Information

This includes:

• Address
• Phone number

You’ll use this for:

• Verifying benefits
• Calling on claims
• Sending documentation

Group Number (Very Important)

This is one of the most critical fields.

The group number:

• Identifies the exact plan
• Must match the patient’s insurance

If it’s wrong → claims will be denied

Claim Setup

Most offices will leave this as default.

This controls:

• How claims are sent (electronic vs printed)
• Default claim behavior

Fee Schedule (Affects Payment Amounts)

This directly impacts how insurance pays.

Here’s how it works:

• If a plan fee schedule is attached → Dentrix uses that
• If a patient fee schedule is attached → it overrides the plan
• If neither → provider (office) fees are used

👉 This is a big one for accurate estimates and payments

Payer ID (Electronic Claims)

The payer ID is required for electronic claims.

If it’s:

• Missing
• Incorrect

Your claims won’t go through.

Dentrix often auto-fills this, but always double-check.

Provider IDs (Optional)

Used if:

• You have multiple providers
• Specialists require different IDs

Most general offices don’t need to adjust this often.

Save the Plan

Once everything is entered, click OK to save.

Now the plan is in your database and ready to attach to patients.

Step 4: Attach Insurance to the Patient

Now you’re back in the patient’s Insurance Information window.

This is where you enter patient-specific details.

Subscriber ID

This comes from the patient’s insurance card.

If it’s wrong → claims will be denied

Release of Information

This should almost always be checked.

It allows you to:

• Send patient information to the insurance company

Assignment of Benefits (Very Important)

This determines who gets paid.

• Checked → Insurance pays your office
• Unchecked → Insurance pays the patient

👉 If you want payments sent to your office, this must be checked

Relationship to Subscriber

Select:

• Self
• Spouse
• Child

This affects how the claim is processed.

Save

Click OK, and the insurance is now attached to the patient.

Step 5: Review Benefits & Coverage (Optional but Helpful)

Inside the insurance window, you can open:

Benefits & Coverage

This lets you:

• Enter deductibles
• Set maximums
• Customize coverage percentages
• Add plan notes

Example:

• If restorative is 50%, you can enter that here for more accurate estimates

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Here’s what I see all the time:

• ❌ Creating duplicate insurance plans
• ❌ Entering the wrong group number
• ❌ Missing or incorrect payer ID
• ❌ Not attaching the correct fee schedule
• ❌ Leaving assignment of benefits unchecked

Fixing these upfront saves a ton of time later.

Final Thoughts

Insurance setup in Dentrix isn’t complicated, but it has to be accurate.

If you:

• Search before creating plans
• Enter key details correctly
• Understand what affects claims and payments

You’ll avoid most of the common issues offices run into.

If you want to see this step-by-step inside Dentrix, watch the full video above.

And if you’re working in a dental office and want more simple, real-world Dentrix training, check out my other tutorials 👍