Dental Charting and Odontogram Software
An interactive odontogram that feeds the treatment plan, not a picture of one.
Plenty of software shows you a tooth chart. The question worth asking is what happens after you mark a tooth. If the answer is "nothing", you have drawn a diagram. If the finding becomes a plan, a procedure and an invoice line that still knows which tooth it came from, you have a record.
Quick answer
Dentrah includes an interactive 32-tooth odontogram in FDI notation. Each tooth records colour-coded findings such as caries, filling, RCT, crown, extraction, implant or missing, and teeth sharing a finding can be charted together. Findings flow into treatment plans and invoices with the tooth number intact. Charting is part of the recommended plan and the free first month, not the limited plan.
Key takeaways
- Tooth chart: 32 teeth, FDI two-digit numbering (11 to 48).
- Findings per tooth: caries, filling, RCT, crown, extraction, implant, missing; colour-coded.
- Connected record: finding, treatment plan, completed procedure and invoice line share the tooth number.
- Where it runs: any web browser, plus Android and iOS apps; nothing to install.
- Plan: charting, examinations and treatment plans need the recommended plan (or the free first month).
Who this dental charting software is for
General dentists and small clinics that chart at the chair and want the chart to drive the treatment plan and the bill: a single-chair practice, a clinic with one or two associates, or a group running more than one branch from one account. If you work alone, the page on dental software for solo dentists covers the rest of the day around the chart. It suits general restorative and prosthetic work better than specialist periodontal practice (see the limits below).
The problem with a paper tooth chart
A paper chart records what was found, then stops. The treatment plan is written somewhere else, the bill in a receipt book, and the associate's share in a register. Four records describe one procedure and nobody can reconcile them months later. A digital chart is only worth having if it removes that retyping.
FDI tooth numbering
Dentrah charts in FDI two-digit notation: teeth 11 to 18 upper right, 21 to 28 upper left, 31 to 38 lower left, 41 to 48 lower right. Tooth 16 is the upper right first molar. Tooth 36 is the lower left first molar.
This matters more than it sounds. Software written for the American market often defaults to the Universal numbering system, where teeth run 1 to 32. A chart that calls the lower left first molar "19" instead of "36" is a small friction on every entry for a dentist who works in FDI, and it makes records harder for the next dentist who reads them.
What each tooth on the odontogram can carry
Each tooth holds its own findings, colour-coded so the state of the whole mouth is readable without clicking into anything:
- Caries and Filling, the two you will use most
- RCT for endodontically treated teeth
- Crown for existing and planned prosthetic work
- Extraction and Missing, which are not the same thing and should not be recorded as if they were
- Implant where a missing tooth has been restored
Where several teeth share a finding, they can be charted as a group rather than repeated one at a time. A patient presenting with caries on four teeth is one entry, not four.
Workflow: examination, tooth chart, treatment plan, invoice
- Examination: record the clinical examination and investigations, including radiographs, against the patient.
- Chart: mark findings on the odontogram, tooth by tooth or as a group.
- Treatment plan: a finding on tooth 37 becomes a line in that patient's plan, priced per procedure and tracked from started to finished.
- Invoice: finished procedures become invoice lines that still know they were tooth 37, with part payments and the outstanding balance on the same record.
The same information is entered once and used several times. A dispute months later has an answer: the finding, the date, the plan the patient agreed to, the procedure performed and the amount charged are one connected record. When an associate's commission is calculated, it comes from that invoice line, as the guide to dentist commission calculation explains. Notes on the plan and on each procedure can be dictated by voice in the browser; the guide to dental clinical notes covers what those notes should contain.
Which plan includes dental charting
Dental charting, examinations and treatment plans are included in the recommended plan and during the free first month. The limited plan covers appointments, prescriptions, invoices, payments and reports, so it does not include the odontogram. A clinic can move up at any time. Current prices are on the dental software pricing page, and every module is described under dental software features.
Getting started and charting on mobile
Implementation
There is nothing to install. The chart runs in a normal web browser, so the machine is your choice: the reception computer, a laptop, or a tablet beside the chair. The first month is free with every feature unlocked and no credit card, so you can chart real patients before choosing a plan. Setup is mostly entering your procedure list and prices.
Web, Android and iOS
The same records open in the browser and in the Android and iOS apps. Dentrah runs on the jDent dental practice platform. Your clinic account opens at app.jdentclinic.com and the mobile app is listed as jDent in the app stores.
How to choose dental charting software
Most demos show you a tidy chart. These are the questions that separate a chart you will still be using in three years from one your staff quietly abandon:
- Which notation does it use? If it is fixed to Universal numbering, every entry is a small translation for a dentist who works in FDI.
- How many clicks to record one finding? Multiply by the number of teeth you chart in a day. A slow chart gets abandoned, however good it looks.
- Does a finding become anything? Ask for a tooth to be charted and the invoice produced without retyping. If the demo hesitates here, the chart is decorative.
- Can you chart multiple teeth in one action? Entering generalised caries eight separate times is not acceptable.
- Is charting in the plan you are actually buying? Some products, Dentrah included, keep charting out of the entry plan. Check before you compare prices.
- Does it work on the device at the chair? A chart that only runs on the reception desktop gets filled in from memory at the end of the day.
Limits to know
The chart records findings at tooth level, using the seven findings listed above. There is no six-point periodontal pocket charting and no surface-by-surface restorative map. If your practice depends on periodontal charting, book a demo before you commit.
These limits apply to Dentrah as a whole, in every country:
- Payments are recorded, not collected: there is no built-in card or online payment processing, and no payment-gateway integration.
- No insurance claim submission or electronic claims processing.
- No national health-record or e-prescribing integration.
- Support is provided remotely, in English, over WhatsApp and email, Monday to Saturday, 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM IST (UTC+5:30). There is no in-person or on-site support.
- The software interface and voice dictation are in English.
- No tax module: invoices show the clinic's own prices, and tax such as GST or VAT is not calculated.
Clinics in India have a further set of questions — billing in rupees, GST, UPI collection, ABDM and where the data sits — answered on the page for dental clinic software in India. For the whole product, see the overview of Dentrah dental clinic management software.
Related: dental software for solo dentists · what every dental invoice should show · dental clinic setup cost in India
Dental charting software: frequently asked questions
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