Open Dental API
Open Dental is a comprehensive, highly customizable dental practice management platform used by practices of every size for scheduling, charting, billing, and patient engagement. Its REST API exposes 100+ resources mapped 1:1 to database tables, letting you programmatically pull patients, appointments, procedure logs, claims, and payments—and push back new appointments, procedures, and claim submissions—while FHIR endpoints cover medical-system interoperability.
What is Open Dental?
Open Dental is a comprehensive, highly customizable dental practice management software for practices of any size. Practices use Open Dental to manage patient records, schedule appointments, chart treatment, run billing and insurance claims, and engage patients through portals, online scheduling, and integrated messaging—backed by 100s of bridges to third-party programs and 20+ clearinghouses for claims processing.
Core product areas include:
- Practice Management (patient records, appointment scheduling, billing)
- Clinical Tools (graphical tooth chart, electronic prescriptions, perio exams, discount plans)
- Reporting (built-in and graphic reports plus customizable user queries)
- Communication (secure email, integrated texting, automated messaging, mass email)
- Patient Engagement (patient portal, payment portal, web forms, Web Sched online scheduling, eClipboard)
- Mobile Solutions (ODMobile app, ODTouch) and Message-to-Pay payments
Common data entities:
- Patients, Appointments, Providers, Clinics, Operatories, Schedules
- ProcedureLogs, PerioExams, Allergies, Diseases, Medications
- Claims, Payments, Adjustments, PayPlans, Benefits, InsPlans
- Employees, Documents, and 100+ additional resources mapped 1:1 to database tables
The Open Dental Integration Challenge
Open Dental ships a capable REST API, but operationalizing it across real-world dental practices introduces friction:
- Dual-key authentication: Every request needs both a Developer API Key and a per-customer Customer API Key in an Authorization: ODFHIR {Developer}/{Customer} header, generated through the Developer Portal
- Aggressive rate limits: Read-only API permissions are throttled to one request per five seconds; broader permissions relax to one per second, with 429 Too Many Requests when a CustomerKey's queue backs up
- BAA and HIPAA gates: API developers must have a Business Associate Agreement in place with each client practice before accessing protected health information
- Per-practice deployment variance: Self-hosted, eServices, and cloud-hosted instances differ in connectivity, versions, and which API permissions are enabled
- REST vs. FHIR split: The REST API is recommended for most interfaces while a separate FHIR API targets medical-system interoperability—mapping between them is non-trivial
- 100+ table-mapped resources: Resources align 1:1 with database tables, so building useful workflows means stitching many low-level calls and handling permission scopes per resource
How Supergood Creates Open Dental APIs
Supergood layers a resilient, normalized API over Open Dental's REST and FHIR surfaces—managing key handling, throttling, and per-practice deployment differences so you integrate once across every client practice.
- Manages Developer and Customer API keys and the ODFHIR Authorization scheme securely
- Respects per-CustomerKey throttling with adaptive pacing, retries, and 429 backoff
- Normalizes the 100+ table-mapped resources into consistent patient, appointment, claim, and payment objects
- Adapts to self-hosted, eServices, and cloud-hosted deployments with permission-aware access
Use Open Dental with AI agents: Open Dental MCP Server →
Getting Started
- Schedule Integration Assessment
Book a 30-minute session to confirm your resources, API permissions, deployment model, and BAA requirements.
- Supergood Generates and Validates Your API
We deliver a production-ready Open Dental adapter tuned to your practices' permissions and rate limits.
- Deploy with Monitoring
Go live with continuous monitoring and automatic adjustments as Open Dental evolves.
API Endpoints
Authentication
/authenticateEstablish an authenticated session using the Developer and Customer API keys for downstream calls.
Patient Operations
/patientsList and filter patient records, including demographics, status, provider, and clinic assignments.
Scheduling
/appointmentsRetrieve appointments with filters for provider, operatory, clinic, date range, and status.
Scheduling
/create_appointmentSchedule a new appointment for a patient against a provider, operatory, and time slot.
Clinical
/procedurelogsPull completed and planned procedures (ProcedureLogs) for a patient, including codes and tooth/surface detail.
Billing
/claimsRetrieve insurance claims with status, carrier, and payment activity across plans and clearinghouses.
Billing
/create_paymentPost a patient or insurance payment and apply it to outstanding procedures and claims.
Use Cases
Sync patient and scheduling data into your stack
- Pull patient demographics, providers, and clinics into a central warehouse - Stream appointment, recall, and Web Sched online-scheduling events to downstream tools - Keep a unified patient 360 across multi-location dental groups
Automate clinical and procedure workflows
- Read ProcedureLogs, perio exams, and treatment plans for analytics and care coordination - Push planned procedures and chart updates back into Open Dental - Trigger downstream prescription, lab, and imaging workflows from procedure events
Reconcile claims, payments, and billing
- Sync claims, adjustments, and insurance payments into accounting and AR systems - Match patient and carrier payments against ProcedureLogs and PayPlans - Surface aging balances and denied claims to follow-up and collections workflows
Power patient engagement and communications
- Drive integrated texting, mass email, and Message-to-Pay from external campaign tools - Sync web forms and eClipboard intake data into your CRM - Trigger automated reminders and payment requests from appointment and balance events
Technical Specifications
Authentication
Developer and Customer API keys via an Authorization: ODFHIR {Developer}/{Customer} header, managed in a secure session
Connectivity
Open Dental REST API (100+ table-mapped resources) plus the separate FHIR API for medical interoperability
Response format
Normalized JSON across patient, appointment, procedure, claim, and payment objects
Rate limits
Adaptive pacing respecting one request per five seconds for read-only keys, relaxed to one per second with broader permissions
Session management
Automatic key handling, per-CustomerKey request queuing, and credential rotation
Data freshness
Near real-time reads for patients, appointments, and claims with optional scheduled batch syncs
Security
Encrypted credential vault, BAA-aware access, HIPAA-aligned controls, and audit logging
Webhooks
Event-style callbacks for appointment changes, procedure completion, claim status, and payment posting
Latency
Sub-second reads on cached entities; throttle-bound writes paced to Open Dental's per-CustomerKey limits
Throughput
Per-practice workers sized to multi-location dental group volume within rate-limit constraints
Reliability
Retry, backoff, and 429 Too Many Requests handling with idempotency keys for writes
Adaptation
Continuous monitoring of Open Dental API versions, permission changes, and per-practice deployment drift
Frequently asked questions
Both. Supergood works primarily against Open Dental's REST API, which is recommended for most interfaces, and uses the FHIR API where you are connecting to an existing medical-system interface—presenting a single normalized surface over both.
Supergood manages both keys securely, including the Authorization: ODFHIR {Developer}/{Customer} header scheme, and issues per-customer keys through the Developer Portal so each practice's access stays isolated.
We pace requests to respect per-CustomerKey throttling—one per five seconds for read-only permissions, relaxed to one per second with broader permissions—and gracefully back off on 429 Too Many Requests responses.
Yes. Open Dental requires API developers to have a Business Associate Agreement in place with each client practice. Supergood operates within that framework with HIPAA-aligned, BAA-aware access controls.
Yes. Supergood adapts to self-hosted, eServices, and cloud-hosted deployments, tuning connectivity and permission scopes to each practice's environment and enabled API permissions.