Stay Connected from the Chart to the Chair

Imagine for a moment: patient images stored on an outdated computer in another operatory. No way to illustrate decay progression to support a treatment recommendation—so the patient doesn't grasp the diagnosis and declines the procedure. And then there's the lingering concern that critical markers warranting a closer look may have gone unnoticed.

It's a familiar scenario for some clinicians, but not for Naana Mensah Coleman, DDS, who is known to her patients as Dr. MC. In her South Side Chicago practice, she relies on the Dentrix Ascend platform, a cloud-based practice management system, along with Dentrix Detect AI and Patient Engage. This intuitive product suite unites her clinical and administrative workflow into a single system accessible anywhere, anytime.

"These tools are just so cohesive," said Dr. MC, who has practiced for almost a decade. "It's hard to remember when we didn't have all 3 Dentrix products. Even though they play different roles, they make the practice run smoothly."

Dentrix Ascend: Reduces Practice ‘Friction’

"At Henry Schein One, our strategic goal with the Dentrix Ascend platform is to reduce the points of friction inside the workflow," said April Lowry, Executive Director of Clinical/AI Products. "It's not about being the data storage hub, but rather the engine that runs a practice's workflow—from diagnosis to documentation to scheduling to claims—all in one intelligent platform."

It's for exactly those reasons that, after opening her own practice 2 years ago, one of the first decisions Dr. MC made was to implement Dentrix Ascend.

"I wanted to be nimble and have everything I needed under one umbrella, especially from a clinical standpoint," she shared. "And the fact that it's cloud-based makes it a game changer. I wear many hats in my life, and having a system where I can go home, put my kids to sleep, do household chores, and still be able to check on my patients is just incredible."

Dentrix Detect AI: A Sharper Read on Patient Care

Powered by VideaHealth, Dentrix Detect AI brings automated x-ray analysis to imaging workflows. Built into the Dentrix Ascend platform—no extra login or toggling between systems—it uses AI algorithms to flag decay and interproximal radiographic bone loss, with color graphics that help patients understand what they're seeing.

"It's like a fact-checker," Dr. MC said. "It brings my attention to certain things that I may miss, and it also confirms what I'm already thinking. Detect AI vividly identifies tooth anatomy, so my patients can see chairside if a cavity is close to a nerve, which is why they're in pain. Since they understand what's happening in their mouth, acceptance goes up and treatments go up because patients see everything with their own eyes."

"There are certain tools that, if we don't adopt them, it's just not in the best interest of our patients because when we know better, we do better," she continued. "I still have full autonomy to decide what to do in my patient's mouth. AI is not doing my job—it's making me aware of things that I might not have seen."