Denticon Centralizes Practice Management for CollectiveCare Dental

CollectiveCare Dental acquired their first office in 2015 and rapidly expanded to ten offices. As a dental service organization (DSO), CollectiveCare began to acquire locations and the team quickly realized the need for a solution that could centralize and standardize practice management.

The dental practices used multiple server-based systems of varying operational capabilities, each requiring its own login, and it was challenging to perform tasks including accessing patient data, providing referrals, accepting and processing payments, interoffice communication and much more.  

Finding a Robust Practice Management Solution

“We took our time vetting practice management system vendors and products as we wanted to assure we were making a sound decision,” shared CollectiveCare Dental Founder John Button. “We wanted a web-based product from a vendor who had extensive experience and who we felt would be responsive, would really listen to us regarding our needs and wants with the system and who would treat us as an extended part of their team as opposed to ‘just another client.’ We selected Planet DDS and could not be happier with that decision.”  

CollectiveCare Dental onboarded the cloud-based Denticon practice management solution by Planet DDS in 2018 for their first office, and now uses it in all ten locations. Senior Operations Manager Kristin Cooney shared how changing to the robust Denticon platform enabled CollectiveCare to operate more efficiently and provide a better patient experience. 

“When searching for the right solution, CollectiveCare looked at other cloud-based solutions,” Cooney said. “We did a ton of research. Planet DDS had a good reputation, and we absolutely made the right choice. We have people joining us from other companies who have started using Denticon and they love it. They have horror stories from using other solutions.” 

Connecting All Dental Practices within a DSO 

As CollectiveCare Dental acquired new offices, they discovered it was challenging to manage multiple offices that were all on different server-based systems. Everything was onsite and everything needed backup servers. 

“When new practices were acquired, we were stuck with whatever software that office used,” explained Cooney. “That caused issues with reporting because they all used different practice management software [PMS], and there was no congruence between the practices. It was also difficult because none of the practices were using cloud-based software. Managers would have to remote into each server to get the information they needed.” 

As a DSO that includes a range of dental specialties, CollectiveCare Dental refers patients to practices within their organization. Prior to Denticon, this process was disjointed.

“We refer patients to specialists in our other offices, and we were constantly making duplicate patient charts because of all the different software systems,” said Cooney. “It was extremely time consuming to manually enter all the information, email X-rays, import them, print out a referral to send with the patients, and even just communicate between the doctors. Now, with Denticon, we have seamless communication between our practices. Sharing patient records between offices, for example, saves the front desk staff a lot of time. At the executive level, reporting is easier because we can pull everything from one place.” 

When it comes to revenue cycle management (RCM), CollectiveCare manages everything on Denticon and saves money by not having to hire additional staff. Prior to implementing Denticon, the staff had to manually print and mail statements. Now, patients receive a direct digital payment link and can access what they need via their patient portal.  

Additionally, the intuitive tools within Denticon improve efficiency and simplify tasks. “My favorite feature is SmartAssist,” said Cooney. “We use it all the time. It’s so helpful to have a simple checklist there. The best part about it is being able to send updated forms and medical history so easily.” 

Replacing Onsite Servers with Denticon

Instant access to practice information makes it easier for CollectiveCare Dental’s executive and leadership team to consistently review performance data and ensure objectives are being met.  

“Our executive and leadership team tracks schedule production on a daily—sometimes hourly—basis,” Cooney explained. “We notice when big cases fall out of the schedule, and can quickly take action to get those patients back in. We can also easily identify when a day looks light and take action to fill the schedule.” 

Denticon provides permission-based access to information, enabling secure, instant access to patient information from anywhere, without having to rely on people logging in to servers. Before Denticon, the director of operations or controller of CollectiveCare would have to remote into each server to pull information every day, or they’d have to rely on an office manager to do it. “This was a waste of time for the office manager,” said Cooney. “And it is never fast to remote into a server—it takes forever. Plus, there were different logins for each software system. Everything was scattered.” 

Cooney’s experience logging into servers was no better than others. “I used to have to log into the computer, and then again into the actual software,” Cooney explained. “This typically looked like having to choose the computer I wanted to log into, then I had to remember the username and password for that particular computer, and then would have to remember how to run the report I needed. In other words, getting information out of the software when we were remoting into servers was a nightmare.” 

Operational Efficiency to Elevate the Patient Experience 

Patient experience is always top of mind for CollectiveCare Dental, as they want to ensure a smooth transition after the merger or acquisition. 

“The practices within CollectiveCare Dental all retain their original names, and it does not feel to patients that anything has been disrupted or changed,” Cooney explained. “Our goal is to not change the patient’s experience unless it’s for the better, and typically patients do not realize the dentist has sold the practice. With Denticon, we can customize statements for each office which is very helpful for our model and for patient continuity. We also have the ability to customize things for each office, such as procedure codes which makes things easier.” 

Denticon offers a range of customization features, enabling dental clinics to ensure operations best align with their requirements—especially when it comes to patient care. Features in Detention support greater operational efficiency, and that translates to the overall patient experience. 

“Denticon has improved the patient experience 100%,” said Cooney. “Especially with how things changed after COVID. Now we can easily get consent forms, any signatures we need and medical history ahead of time through online forms.” 

Denticon for Your DSO or Dental Practice

Denticon is built with the dental clinic’s workflow in mind and delivers tools to ensure doctors and administrative staff can operate more efficiently. 

“Since we onboarded our first site, they have continued to work closely with us, have continued to develop terrific additional capabilities and have been consummately responsive, when needed. I continue to recommend them, unconditionally, to anyone who asks for my perception,” shared Button.  

“I would absolutely recommend Denticon,” said Cooney. “I think all the features are great, and I love that Planet DDS is open to feedback from customers. They are always focused on improving features and adding features that help make dental practices more efficient. The fact that it’s cloud-based has been a real game-changer for us.” 

Whether you’re a single practice dental clinic, a DSO, an orthodontic practice, or any other provider of dental care, Planet DDS offers a suite of cloud-based solutions to support your requirements. To learn more about Denticon and other Planet DDS solutions, book a demo with our team today.  

Download the case study here: CollectiveCare Dental Case Study