When a new patient calls for an appointment, Dentrix allows you schedule the appointment without first creating the patient’s Family File record, which is helpful if the new patient doesn’t keep his or her appointment. Then, when the new patient arrives, you can use the appointment’s information to create the patient’s Family File record, without having to re-enter all of the new patient’s information.
Watch this video to learn how to create a patient record using a new-patient appointment. (Duration 0:58)
Additional Tips
- Dentrix sets the first person entered in a family record as the head of house (and guarantor). You can add another family member and then change him or her to the head of house, if appropriate.
- When you switch to the Family File from the new patient appointment in the Appointment Book, and click File > New Patient With Appt, you have the following options:
- Create New Family – Lets you create a new record and will set the selected patient as the head of house (and guarantor).
- Add to Current Family – You can add to a current family only if there is a family is currently selected in the Family File; otherwise, this option is grayed out and unavailable.
- Select Family – Lets you select an existing family, so you can add the selected patient to that family’s record.
- Dentrix uses the patient’s birthdate to determine the patient’s primary or permanent dentition. If you don’t enter a birthdate, Dentrix warns you that the patient will automatically be assigned permanent dentition.
- To learn more about creating a patient record using a new-patient appointment, read Adding a New Patient with an Appointment in Dentrix Help.
Check Your Knowledge
If you have access to Dentrix, check your knowledge with this exercise.
- Switch to the Dentrix demo database.
(Skip this step if you are using the Dentrix Learning Edition software. - Locate Travis Mitchell’s new-patient appointment.
- Create a Family File record for Travis Mitchell.