This article provides an overview of the Open Dental settings you'll need to configure so your practice can use YAPI's Smart Scheduling feature.  Follow the instructions in each section below to review these settings and make any necessary edits before you set up Smart Scheduling in the Practice Online Portal.

Table of Contents

• Setting Provider Availability
  • Adding a Provider to the Schedule
  • Editing a Provider's Schedule
• Reviewing Available Recall Types
• Preparing an Automated Appointment Booking Staff User
• Optional: Reviewing & Adding Quick Add Codes
• Next Steps
• Related Articles

 

Setting Provider Availability

Smart Scheduling uses the provider availability you set in Open Dental to present patients with available times when they schedule online.  It's important to double-check the schedule of any provider you want available for Smart Scheduling and keep their schedule up to date in Open Dental so patients don't accidentally schedule on a time that the provider is unavailable.

Use the instructions below to check and adjust each provider's availability to the time frames you want patients to be able to schedule for online.

1. In the Open Dental toolbar, click Setup and select Schedules.

   

2. In the Schedule window, review the availability for each provider that you want to take online-scheduled appointments. If you don't see times available for your providers, proceed to Adding a Provider to the Schedule and/or Editing a Provider's Schedule below.

   

Adding a Provider to the Schedule

1. Double-click on a day you want to edit. 

2. In the Edit Day window that opens, select a provider and click +Add. 

3. Select an operatory they'll be available in that day, then change the Start and Stop Times to reflect their availability in that operatory.  Then click OK. 

4. Repeat for each operatory and each provider, then click OK.

   

Editing a Provider's Schedule

1. Double-click on a day you want to edit. 

2. In the Edit Day window that opens, find the provider with their time and operatory listed in the Edit Day list. 

3. Double-click the provider and edit availability for the highlighted operatory, then click OK.  

4. Repeat for any other availabilities in the Edit Day list, then click OK.

Tip: For complete instructions and shortcuts to add multiple days and providers at a time, see Schedule Setup on the Open Dental Website.

 

Reviewing Available Recall Types

Smart Scheduling uses your active Recall Types to help existing patients schedule their hygiene appointments, so you'll want to know what recalls you have set up in Open Dental before activating Smart Scheduling. To easily view your set Recall Types from YAPI:

1. From the YAPI Dashboard, click Recall Manager  and select Recall Manager Setup.

2. Note the recall types that display in the Recalls to Manage box.  The selected recall types should reflect the recall appointment types you want recall patients to be able schedule online. If a Recall Type is missing, proceed to Setting Up & Editing Recall Types below.

Setting Up & Editing Recall Types

1. In the Open Dental toolbar, click Setup and select Appointments.  Then select Recall Types.

   

2. Review the list of available Recall Types.

   

   • To Add a Recall Type: Click +Add. 

     • Description: Enter the name of the recall type
     • Special Type: If this recall is Prophy, Child Prophy, or Perio, select that type from the list.  Otherwise, leave this box alone.
     • Procedures that Trigger this Recall Type: Click +Add to add codes for procedures that trigger this recall. 
     • Default interval:  Enter how much time should pass before a this recall type is due.
     • Time Pattern: Enter the time pattern for the scheduled recall appointment.
     • Procedures on Appointment: Click +Add to add the procedure codes that will be attached to the scheduled recall appointment. 
     • Click OK.
       
       

   • To Edit a Recall Type: Double-click the existing Recall Type and make your edits in the Edit Recall Type window.  Then click OK.

   Tip: For detailed instructions, see Recall Types on the Open Dental Website.

 

Preparing an Automated Appointment Booking Staff User

When setting up Smart Scheduling, you must select an Open Dental user as your practice's Automated Appointment Booking Staff in Smart Scheduling's General Settings:

This user allows Smart Scheduling to add appointments to your schedule and to a patient's Commlog when they book online. Prior to your Smart Scheduling setup appointment, you need to check that the staff member you plan to use as your Automated Appointment Booking Staff is set as a User and is not marked as Hidden in Open Dental:

1. In Open Dental, click Lists in the toolbar and select Employees.

   

2. Locate the staff member you want to use as your Automated Appointment Booking Staff for Smart Scheduling.  If they are not marked as Hidden (there's no X in the Hidden column next to them), continue on to Step 3. 

   

   If they are marked as Hidden, double-click their name and in the Employee Edit window that pops up, deselect Hidden and click OK.

   

3. Then, in the Open Dental toolbar, click Setup, select Security, then Security Settings.

   Note: For older versions of Open Dental, just click Setup and select Security.

4. In the security window that pops up, look for your staff member in the Users section.  If they're present there, your staff member has all the necessary settings to be used as the Automated Appointment Booking Staff and you can continue on to the next step.

   

   If the staff member is not showing the in Users section, click the Add User button.  In the window that pops up, enter their name in the Name box and select them from the Employee or Provider list.  Then click OK.

   

5. Click Close.  

 

Optional: Reviewing & Adding Quick Add Codes

Quick Add Codes are codes within Open Dental that group procedures together.  If your practice uses Quick Add Codes and wants to use them for online appointment booking, you need to note which ones you want to use for Smart Scheduling:

1. In the Open Dental toolbar, click Setup and select Definitions.

   

2. In the Definitions window, select Account Procs Quick Add from the Select Category list:

   

3. Review your available Quick Add Codes in the list and write down the names of the ones you want to use for Smart Scheduling (the most commonly used ones are whichever codes you use for new patient and hygiene appointments).

4. Optional: Add any new Quick Add Codes by clicking +Add.  Enter a Name for the Quick Add Code and add each ADA procedure code you want grouped under this Quick Add Code.  Then click OK.

   

5. Click Close.

Tip: For detailed instructions, see Appointment Procedures Quick Add on the Open Dental Website.

 

Next Steps

Once you've checked and made any desired edits to the settings above, you're ready to activate Smart Scheduling! When you're ready to get started, just reach out to your Customer Success Manager to schedule your Smart Scheduling Feature Activation session.

Related Articles

• Smart Scheduling - Open Dental Commlog
• Smart Scheduling Article Directory