Best CRM for dental practices
Dental software splits in two: full practice systems with charting, and messaging tools that sit beside them. Compared on price, features and the job each one does.
Want to see it first? Book a demo
Open Dental wins for a dental practice that wants full charting and practice management at a published price. Weave wins if you already run Dentrix, Eaglesoft or another system for clinical records and want a tool just for patient texts, reminders and review requests.
The short answer
- Open Dental is $199 a month per location for the first 12 months, then $149 a month. That covers up to 3 providers, with $20 a month for each extra one, per opendental.com/site/fees.html.
- Weave starts from $199 a month. You have to ask for the exact tier prices (Pro, Elite, Ultimate). It has no charting or clinical records; it's a messaging layer that sits beside your practice system, per getweave.com/pricing.
- Dentrix asks for a demo before it shares a price. Its site lists voice SOAP notes, AI caries detection and a Marketing & Patient Experience set for recall and reviews, per dentrix.com.
Dental practice management and communication tools compared
| Tool | Starting price | Seats model | Charting/clinical records? | Own database? | Patient communication/CRM? | Best for | Not for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dentrix | Pricing on request | Not published; packages can be tailored | Yes, full charting, imaging and clinical AI | No, hosted or on-site per Henry Schein One's model | Yes, Marketing & Patient Experience: recall, campaigns, review management | A practice that wants full charting with AI note-taking and marketing built in | A practice that wants a published price before a sales call |
| Open Dental | $199/mo per location (first year), then $149/mo | Per location, up to 3 providers, +$20/mo per extra provider | Yes, full odontogram, perio, ortho and imaging | No, hosted; an API the customer controls | Partial: recall and auto messages through add-on eServices, no marketing campaigns | A practice that wants full charting at a clear, published monthly price | A practice that wants marketing campaigns or review management built in |
| Weave | From $199/mo (exact tiers gated) | Not published; base plan includes 2 phones | No, messaging layer only, no clinical records | No, hosted shared SaaS | Yes, the deepest of the three: AI texting, missed-call text-back, review requests, bulk campaigns | A practice with a PMS already that wants a patient messaging layer on top | A practice that wants one system that includes charting |
Figures checked on dentrix.com, opendental.com/site/fees.html and getweave.com/pricing, September 2026.
How each one fits a dental practice
Dentrix
Full practice management with voice SOAP notes, AI caries detection and auto CDT coding. It adds a Marketing & Patient Experience line for recall campaigns and review management, and a documented API with 700 endpoints. You need a demo to see any price. Not for: a practice that wants to compare prices before it talks to sales.
Open Dental
The only one of the three with a fully published monthly price per location. It covers full charting, perio and ortho tracking, imaging and treatment plans, plus a patient portal and CareCredit payments. Marketing comes as add-on recall and message services, not full campaigns. Not for: a practice that wants review management or marketing campaigns built in.
Weave
Built around patient messages: AI two-way texting, missed-call text-back, AI help with review replies, email marketing and bulk campaigns, plus Text to Pay and tap-to-pay. It has no charting or clinical records, so it sits beside a PMS. Not for: a practice that wants one system for both clinical records and patient messages.
How to choose
Choose Open Dental if you want full charting at a published price, $199 a month per location in year one. Choose Dentrix if you want AI note-taking and marketing in the same system and you're happy to book a demo for the price. Choose Weave if you already have a practice system and want the deepest patient texting and review tools on top.
Disclosure: SalesCrew is our product. SalesCrew makes no HIPAA claim; it holds enquiry and scheduling data, and clinical records stay in your practice system. For a dental practice, that means new-patient enquiries and appointment requests before the first visit, each on a pipeline with an owner. The practice software ranked above keeps charting, treatment and claims.
Questions
- Do I need a practice management system and a separate CRM tool for a dental office?
- It depends on the system. Dentrix and Open Dental are full practice systems with charting and clinical records, and both add recall or marketing messages on top. Weave has no charting or clinical records at all. It's a messaging layer that sits beside your practice system. A practice on Weave still needs Dentrix, Eaglesoft or a similar system under it.
- What does Open Dental actually cost per month?
- $199 a month per location for the first 12 months, then $149 a month. That covers up to 3 providers, with $20 a month for each extra one, per opendental.com/site/fees.html. It's a published number, unlike Dentrix, which asks for a demo first.
- Is Dentrix's patient communication as good as Weave's?
- Dentrix has its own Marketing & Patient Experience set. It covers recall, text and email campaigns and review management, in the same system as charting. Weave is built around patient messages, with AI two-way texting, missed-call text-back and review requests. It goes deeper on that one job, since it doesn't also run clinical records.
- Can these tools run outbound marketing to attract new patients, not only recall existing ones?
- Dentrix and Weave both have some marketing tools: campaigns, bulk texts and review requests. Those aim mostly at current and lapsed patients, not at people who have never been in. To reach new patients, you pair them with an outbound CRM built for that job.