Dentalplus – ‘easy and efficient’ dental software

Paul Bartley speaks to us about dental software, Dentalplus, and how it is making practice life much easier and more efficient.

Please introduce yourself and give us a bit of background on yourself and your practice.

I am Paul Bartley. I qualified with a BDS in Cardiff in 1974 and obtained my MFGDP (UK) in 1997.

My wife and I founded Rumney Hill Dental Surgery in 1979. Since then, it has grown into a practice with five surgeries.

We have a large NHS contract and are also a referral practice for endodontics. The practice has been a foundation training practice since 2005.

I have retired from carrying out clinical work, but spend a lot of time developing and overseeing governance and services in the practice. We have been members of the BDA Good Practice Scheme for 19 years.

What treatments do you provide at your practice?

We provide a full range of general dentistry under our NHS contract and we have been involved with the NHS dental contract reform since 2019.

We are also a busy referral practice for independent endodontics. This is provided by our son Andrew, who qualified in 2005 and has a masters degree in endodontics. We are pleased to provide this service for many practices in the south of Wales and more distant areas.

The practice readily embraces new technology. As well as providing restorative work using Bluescan and Primescan CAD/CAM technology, we also have clinicians able to provide orthodontic treatment using the Reveal, Alinio and Invisalign systems.

What attracted you to Dentalplus?

I first met the Dentalplus team at the BDA Conference in 2006. This was prior to the implementation of the ‘new contract’.

Although we have always been using computers in the practice, it was clear we would need to invest in new equipment in order to manage the practice more effectively and keep a close eye on how we were coping with the demands of the contract.

I met other companies who were very prominent at the time. But I felt they were unable to provide me with what I needed in terms of training and support.

I also liked the look of the software with Dentalplus and found their licensing policy very competitive.

I expected them to give me an easy to use, well designed product from a well-tailored service with very efficient back up and advice. And I have never been disappointed.

What is it about Dentalplus that makes it stand out above other competitors?

There are a number of areas where Dentalplus has excelled.

When we started, we were able to feedback to them areas of the software we thought could be improved, as well as new ideas to incorporate. They were also very proactive in developing new ideas of their own.

The dental practice software has been easy to use and very efficient in managing our everyday needs.

When we started out, some staff were very unsure about using the new dental clinic software. However, with the great support we received, we soon overcame these fears.

If I had to pick two things above all that I like about Dentalplus, it would be the adaptability and accessibility. If ever we have a query, problem or idea to discuss, we are able to phone them and get through to the key people without delay.

I’m not sure we would have this luxury with larger companies.

How do your staff find using Dentalplus?

Many of our staff have been with us since before Dentalplus was introduced and had limited IT knowledge. They would agree that Dentalplus was an easy system to learn and utilise in their day-to-day work.

New staff also find it easy to adapt to the dental practice management system. They like the way it is easy to navigate around the various menus and options at their disposal.

From a purely administrative point of view, it has saved a lot of valuable time in eliminating (previously) tedious tasks.

Thanks to Dentalplus, we have become a paperless practice. Although staff were concerned about this development, they soon adapted to this and their confidence with using Dentalplus helped them through this process.

How has Dentalplus benefited your practice?

Modernisation and moving forward by embracing new working methods and technologies have been driving forces in practice development.

Having a high-quality dental software system has been central to practice development. Dentalplus has been able to provide us not only with an excellent platform for carrying out our day-to-day activities, but has also been invaluable in helping us develop new ways of improving patients’ services and administrative efficiency.

It is very adaptable software for dentists. We have been able to improve patients’ services through the many options.

As an example, when we entered the NHS dental reform contractual arrangements, the NHS required us to complete an ‘ACORN’ assessment for each patient.

Where many colleagues in other practices were having to complete this long process manually, Dentalplus (within days) managed to incorporate this into existing software thereby saving a lot of valuable clinical time.

During COVID-19, Dentalplus have given us invaluable support in putting new features our way. These features help us ensure patient safety and save clinical time.

The team has designed many of these ideas with great efficiency.

COVID-19 has required us to develop new ways of delivering patient care. Much of this is easier thanks to their innovation and support.

Dentalplus also links very efficiently into our digital radiography system and intra-oral photography system.

What have your patients said about the dental software?

Our patients often give positive feedback about the improved communications made possible by many of the options available on Dentalplus.

This would include such things as text messaging and reminders; medical histories; information on services available and COVID screening. Patients were also very positive about us becoming a paperless practice.

What has been your experience of Dentalplus support?

Dentalplus support has been exceptional. From the earliest days of in house training we have always enjoyed quick and direct access to those who develop the software, as well as those who help with any general enquiries.

In a busy practice, which is so dependent on IT, it is vitally important to know help is immediately available should problems occur.

Dentalplus has never let us down. The back-up and support has been excellent.

They are also very efficient in making necessary changes to existing dental software and developing new options to improve our services.

Would you recommend Dentalplus?

I am very happy to recommend Dentalplus to colleagues.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Dentalplus offers a vast range of options, some of which I have mentioned.

There are many other options available concerning such things as audit, financial management and a whole range of reporting capabilities that practices can readily customise to suit their needs.