Scheduling an Existing Patient Appointment (From Scratch)

The fastest way to schedule an existing patient appointment in Dentrix starts in the Appointment Book.

1. Find an open time on the schedule

2. Double-click directly on the time slot

3. Select the patient

This opens the Appointment Information window, where all appointment details are entered.

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Understanding the Appointment Information Box

This window is the core of scheduling in Dentrix. Knowing what each section does will save you time and prevent errors.

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Provider & Additional Provider

Dentrix automatically defaults to the patient’s primary provider.

Tip:
It’s best to enter the appointment reason first, then change the provider. Certain procedures can reset the provider back to the patient’s primary if you select it too early.

• Use Additional Provider when a doctor exam is added to a hygiene appointment.

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Appointment Reason & Procedure Codes

This determines what the patient is coming in for and which procedure codes are attached.

There are three ways to add procedures:

1. Initial Reasons

Commonly used for:

• Exams

• X-rays

• Prophys

• Fluoride

These are customizable by office.

2. Treatment Planned Procedures

If treatment has already been planned, you can select it directly from the treatment plan and attach it to the appointment.

3. Miscellaneous Codes

This pulls up all dental codes and is useful for:

• Limited exams

• Same-day procedures

• Appointments without a completed treatment plan

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Appointment Description (Important Tip)

The appointment description is what appears directly on the schedule.

You can edit it, but:

• Editing the description often causes Dentrix to reset it

• Any notes typed here can be lost

Best practice:
Use the Notes section at the bottom of the appointment instead of the description line.

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Appointment Length, Fees & Eligibility

Dentrix automatically:

• Calculates appointment length based on procedure codes

• Pulls in the estimated fee for the appointment

You can:

• Manually adjust the appointment length

• View insurance eligibility (if your office uses Dentrix eligibility tools)

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Appointment Status, Lists & Priority

Statuses like:

• Scheduled

• Confirmed

• Here

• Ready

These can be customized by your office and control which appointment lists the patient appears on.

Additional tools include:

• ASAP list

• Fixed/Open status

• Appointment priority types (high, medium, low production)

These features are especially helpful when trying to move patients into earlier openings.

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Notes, History & Tracking Changes

The Notes section allows you to:

• Insert a dateline

• Add internal notes about the appointment or patient

Dentrix also tracks:

• When the appointment was created

• Every change made to it

• A full edit history (date, time, and what changed)

This is extremely helpful for troubleshooting scheduling issues.

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Helpful Buttons Inside the Appointment Window

Some commonly overlooked but powerful tools:

• More Info: Appointments, continuing care, and patient details

• Patient Info: Family File and treatment plan

• Insurance Claim Info: Claim-related data

• Schedule Next: Creates the next appointment immediately

• Wait Will Call: Removes appointment and places patient on unscheduled list

• Pinboard: Allows click-and-drag scheduling

• Lab Case Indicator: Flags lab cases attached to appointments

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Custom Checkboxes & Appointment Flags

Dentrix allows custom checkboxes to flag important items, such as:

• Health history update needed

• X-rays requested

• Patient rescheduled

• Welcome call completed

These visual cues make check-in and handoffs much smoother.

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Scheduling Continuing Care (Recare) Appointments

This is the fastest and most efficient way to schedule hygiene recare.

When a patient is in your chair:

1. Complete today’s appointment

2. Click Post / Set Complete

3. Dentrix will ask if you want to create a continuing care appointment

4. Click Yes

Dentrix automatically:

• Uses the patient’s continuing care setup

• Applies correct intervals

• Excludes procedures not due yet (like bitewings)

No need to rebuild the appointment from scratch.

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Using the Pinboard for Recare

After Dentrix creates the continuing care appointment:

• Click Pinboard

• Dentrix jumps ahead to the appropriate future date

• Drag and drop the appointment into a time that works for the patient

This allows you to schedule while the patient is still in your chair — quickly and confidently.

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Finding Open Appointment Times

Instead of scrolling day by day, use Find New Appointment Time (magnifying glass icon).

You can search by:

• Provider

• Operatory

• Day(s) of the week

• Appointment length

• Time blocks (Perfect Day Scheduling)

Once results appear:

• Select a time

• Dentrix jumps directly to that opening

Tip:
Narrowing your search criteria often produces better results faster.

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Final Thoughts

Scheduling existing patients in Dentrix doesn’t have to be complicated — but understanding the tools makes a huge difference.

By:

• Using continuing care correctly

• Leveraging the pinboard

• Understanding appointment lists and status options

you can dramatically improve scheduling efficiency and reduce errors.

Be sure to watch the full video walkthrough for visual examples of each step.