Dentrix vs Open Dental

Which one is cloud-based?

Dentrix: On-premise — 'installed locally on office computers.' (Henry Schein One's separate cloud product, Dentrix Ascend, is browser-based.)

Open Dental: Self-hosted / on-premise by default; a vendor-managed hosted option, Open Dental Cloud, is also offered.

Where the software runs and data lives, as the vendor describes it. Dentrix read 2026-07-22 (source); Open Dental read 2026-07-22 (source).

How does day-to-day access differ?

Dentrix: Installed Windows client with a local database server. Vendor states thin-client setups such as Terminal Services and Citrix are currently not supported.

Open Dental: Installed client (client–server): a server runs the MySQL database; workstations install the app. Open Dental Cloud is accessed remotely and 'looks and feels just like our local version.'

How staff reach it day to day (browser vs installed client). Dentrix read 2026-07-22 (source); Open Dental read 2026-07-22 (source).

Do they run on the same operating systems?

Dentrix: Servers: Windows Server 2016 and higher. Workstations: Windows 10 and higher, 64-bit. (Dentrix 24.1 system requirements, Jan 2024.)

Open Dental: Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025/2022/2019/2016. Vendor notes the server can alternatively run Linux or macOS.

OS support the vendor documents. Dentrix read 2026-07-22 (source); Open Dental read 2026-07-22 (source).

Which one includes imaging?

Dentrix: Built-in Dentrix Imaging; vendor markets capturing X-rays with AI-assisted tooling.

Open Dental: Built-in. Vendor states practices 'should not need any separate imaging software'; radiographs can be taken directly in Open Dental.

Whether the vendor states built-in or integrated imaging. Dentrix read 2026-07-22 (source); Open Dental read 2026-07-22 (source).

Do both submit e-claims?

Dentrix: Yes — eClaims documented; vendor cites 100M+ insurance claims processed annually through Dentrix-connected systems.

Open Dental: Yes. 'A number of Clearinghouses [are] integrated with Open Dental to send Claims electronically.'

Insurance claim submission the vendor documents. Dentrix read 2026-07-22 (source); Open Dental read 2026-07-22 (source).

Which one has a public API?

Dentrix: Yes — Dentrix Developer Program / API Exchange, a community of vendors integrating with Dentrix; vendor cites OAuth 2.0 and SOC 2 Type II.

Open Dental: Yes — formal developer program with a Developer Portal and dual-key auth (Developer API Key + Customer API Key).

Whether the vendor publishes an API or partner/developer program. Dentrix read 2026-07-22 (source); Open Dental read 2026-07-22 (source).

Which one documents a way to get your data out?

Dentrix: Vendor asserts 'full data ownership and access' via the API Exchange, but no direct database access or self-serve full-data export path is documented on the public site. Ask the vendor directly.

Open Dental: Strongest of the group: customers hold their own MySQL/MariaDB database and get direct SQL read access; the vendor documents running your own SELECT queries (writes are cautioned against, reads are supported).

What the vendor states about getting YOUR data out — the interoperability question that matters most on a switch. Dentrix read 2026-07-22 (source); Open Dental read 2026-07-22 (source).

Is either one open source?

Dentrix: No public source-code licence page identified as of the read date; this is a commercially licensed product whose terms sit in the customer agreement rather than a published licence. Not open source.

Open Dental: Proprietary since v24.4. The vendor states: “In version 24.4, the Open Dental license changed from open source GPL to proprietary.” Releases before 24.4 were GPL. The vendor adds that the change did not alter customer pricing, support, or database access — it affects developers who compiled the source.

Whether the vendor publishes a software licence for the source code — the 'is it open source?' question, answered from the vendor's own licence page. Dentrix read 2026-07-26 (source); Open Dental read 2026-07-26 (source).

Which one publishes pricing?

Dentrix: No price or price structure is published on dentrix.com; pricing is quote-based.

Open Dental: Publicly listed (unusual for the industry): e.g. software + support around $199/month/location for the first 12-month term, then ~$149/month/location, with additional per-provider fees and a published eServices rate card. Open Dental Cloud starts around $430/month/location.

What the vendor PUBLICLY lists on its own site, if anything. Unlisted pricing is covered by the community layer. Dentrix read 2026-07-22 (source); Open Dental read 2026-07-22 (source).

Turning this into a decision

A feature table cannot tell you which system fits your practice — your requirements do. Build those first with the PMS Evaluation Pack, then use this page to check which vendor’s published facts actually satisfy them. If migration is the real question, start at migration planning; if you run more than one site, multi-location changes the answer.

Full profiles: Dentrix · Open Dental · all five systems in one grid in the Dental Software Comparison.