How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Ratings come from G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, with the date we checked them.
Key takeaways
- Clinical notes now come in two forms: template-driven notes inside a practice management system (Open Dental Auto Notes) and AI-written notes from a voice or ambient scribe (Dentrix Ascend, Curve, CareStack, tab32, Denti.AI).
- Public pricing for the full systems runs from $125 per month (tab32, year one) to $1,299 per month (CareStack Intelligence). Dentrix Ascend and Curve do not publish prices.
- Denti.AI is the only tool here sold mainly as a notes product. It starts at $399 per month on monthly billing, with unlimited users at one location.
- AI notes are often an add-on. CareStack puts them in a higher tier, and tab32 charges per use at rates it does not publish.
- Every AI note still needs a clinician to review and sign it, so the real test is how fast that review goes in your own workflow.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Dentrix Ascend | Practices and DSOs wanting voice notes built into the chart | See website | No |
 Curve Dental | Cloud practices wanting ambient SOAP notes inside the chart | See website | No |
 CareStack | Multi-location groups that want AI notes in one platform | $829 per month (Essentials); $1,299 per month (Intelligence) | No |
 tab32 | Small and new practices with low fixed costs | $125 per month in year one, $225 per month after (up to 3 providers) | Free trial (14 days) |
 Open Dental | Template-driven notes and data control | $199 per location per month (12-month contract) | Free trial |
 Denti.AI | Adding an AI scribe to a system you already use | $399 per month on monthly billing ($333 per month billed annually) | No |
 Denticon | Larger groups on Windows needing a cloud system | $795 per month | No |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The best dental software for clinical notes
#1Dentrix Ascend
Best for: Practices and DSOs wanting voice notes built into the chart4.3/5 on
G2 (20 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit dentrixascend.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Ascend is the cloud product from Henry Schein One, and its clinical notes pitch is the most direct on this list. You can dictate after the exam with Voice Notes, or let Voice Notes Ambient capture the conversation as it happens. Either way, the note lands in the patient record with no export and no separate login.
The company says the feature was built with AWS technology and produces SOAP-style notes that recognize dental terms. That matters because a note written only for the chart is not always one an insurer will accept. A structure aimed at claim support saves rework when a payer asks for narrative.
The catch is cost transparency and lock-in. Ascend does not publish a price, so you will need a demo and a written quote before comparing it with the others. It also pays off most if you are ready to move to Ascend as your whole system. If you only want a scribe on top of your current software, a standalone option below is a cleaner fit.
What we like- Voice Notes and an ambient mode live inside the patient record
- SOAP-style structure aimed at claim-ready documentation
- Backed by Henry Schein One, which has a large support organization
Watch out for- Pricing is quote-only
- The AI features are tied to the Ascend platform, so a move from Dentrix on a server means a change of product
#2Curve Dental
Best for: Cloud practices wanting ambient SOAP notes inside the chart4.6/5 on
G2 (267 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit curvedental.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Curve is a browser-based system, and it has put its clinical AI under the name Curve Care+. The Notes+ part listens to the clinical conversation and converts it into a templated note or a SOAP note. The provider reviews and saves it, which keeps the clinician in charge of the final record.
Care+ also covers hands-free charting and solo perio exams, so a hygienist can work without a second person calling out numbers. For a practice that wants notes, charting and perio under one vendor, that bundling is the draw. The Care+ page says it works on any device already running Curve Hero, so there is no new hardware to buy for the notes feature itself.
The honest limitation is evidence. Curve Care+ is recent, and most public praise for Curve is about the core system, not the AI suite. Ask for a trial on your own cases, and ask what Care+ costs on top of the base subscription. The pricing page directs you to a personalized quote.
What we like- Curve Care+ generates templated or SOAP notes from the chairside conversation
- No extra login or third-party app
- Works on devices already running Curve Hero
Watch out for- Pricing is by personalized quote
- Care+ is a newer suite, so public reviews of it are still thin
#3CareStack
Best for: Multi-location groups that want AI notes in one platform4.7/5 on
G2 (201 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit carestack.com
Starting price$829 per month (Essentials); $1,299 per month (Intelligence)
Free planNo
CareStack is built for groups and growing practices, and its pricing page lays out two tiers. Essentials starts at $829 per month and covers scheduling, charting, treatment planning and native imaging. Intelligence starts at $1,299 per month and adds AI-powered clinical notes, voice perio charting, AI-powered X-rays and AI clinical diagnosis.
That gap is the main thing to understand. If notes are your reason for buying, the real entry price is the Intelligence tier, not the headline $829. A five-chair office should do the math on a $470 monthly difference against the time saved on documentation.
CareStack suits a dental group that wants one login for every location and a consolidated view of clinical work. It is less sensible for a single-dentist office that mainly wants faster notes. For that buyer, a smaller system or a standalone scribe costs less and does the same job.
What we like- AI-powered clinical notes and voice perio charting on the Intelligence plan
- Prices for both tiers are shown on the pricing page
- One platform for scheduling, charting, billing and imaging
Watch out for- AI notes are not in the entry plan
- The starting price is high for a solo dentist
#4tab32
Best for: Small and new practices with low fixed costs4.3/5 on
Capterra (41 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit tab32.com
Starting price$125 per month in year one, $225 per month after (up to 3 providers)
Free planFree trial (14 days)
tab32 is a cloud system aimed at new and small practices. Its Alpine plan costs $125 per month in year one for up to three providers, then $225 per month from year two. The pricing page lists no setup fee and no contract, and it offers a 14-day free trial. A larger Summit plan is priced on request.
For clinical notes, tab32 sells AI Voice Documentation, which covers voice scribes for exams and recall visits as well as voice perio charting. Notes write directly into the patient chart. The vendor says all AI services are usage-based, with no minimums.
That model keeps the base bill low, but it makes the monthly cost harder to predict. Because the rates are not on the page, ask for them in writing and estimate your monthly note volume before you sign. A busy hygiene schedule could make pay-per-use more expensive than a flat scribe plan. Run that number during the trial.
What we like- No setup fee and no contract
- Voice documentation is native to the platform with no third-party integration
- Low entry price
Watch out for- AI services are pay-per-use and the per-use rates are not published
- Price rises after year one
#5Open Dental
Best for: Template-driven notes and data control4.3/5 on
G2 (47 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit opendental.com
Starting price$199 per location per month (12-month contract)
Free planFree trial
Open Dental takes the opposite approach to the AI tools. Its Auto Notes feature lets a practice build note templates with prompts, then insert them into procedure notes. The manual describes a preference that can block signing a group note while Auto Note prompts remain unanswered. That is a useful guardrail for offices that need every note complete.
The support fee is $199 per location per month on a 12-month contract. It includes the software, full telephone support and new releases, and there is no per-seat charge. A third-party review site also reports a free trial and a 90-day money-back guarantee, so confirm both terms when you order.
The trade-off is that Open Dental is mostly self-managed. Hosting is separate: its own cloud packages start in the hundreds of dollars per month for the medium tier, which covers 15 concurrent sessions. Templates take time to build well, and we found no official ambient scribe in its documentation. Many offices pair Open Dental with a standalone AI scribe, which is where Denti.AI comes in.
What we like- Auto Notes with prompts that can block signing until answered
- Flat per-location support fee with software, phone support and releases included
- Large user community
Watch out for- No built-in ambient AI scribe that we could confirm
- Cloud hosting and IT are extra
#6
Denti.AI
Best for: Adding an AI scribe to a system you already use
Visit denti.ai
Starting price$399 per month on monthly billing ($333 per month billed annually)
Free planNo
Denti.AI is a dental-specific AI company, and its Scribe is the one product here built around notes first. It records the conversation, applies a template you pick or create, and writes the note into your system. The vendor lists HIPAA compliance, real-time transcription and a customizable template library.
Pricing is public. The OneStop Clinical plan costs $399 per month on monthly billing, or $3,990 billed annually (shown as $333 per month). It allows up to seven installs at one location and unlimited users. That flat model works well for a team with several clinicians, because adding a hygienist does not raise the bill.
Its main selling point is that it works beside your current software rather than replacing it. The company's site shows Dentrix and Dentrix Ascend among its integrations, and says to contact sales about others. Check that your exact version is supported before you buy, and ask whether notes write back to the chart or are copied across. Also keep in mind that two systems means two vendors to call when something breaks.
What we like- Built for dental notes and perio charting
- Unlimited users at one location
- Custom templates and 50+ languages supported
Watch out for- Another subscription on top of your practice software
- The plan is priced per location, so multi-office groups pay for each site
#7Denticon
Best for: Larger groups on Windows needing a cloud system4.7/5 on
G2 (74 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit planetdds.com
Starting price$795 per month
Free planNo
Denticon, from Planet DDS, is a cloud practice management system. Its vendor page says pricing starts at $795 per month, with packages and add-ons that depend on practice size. Notes are part of its charting, and its API supports connections to over 50 outside tools.
The platform runs only on Windows. The vendor states plainly that it is not compatible with Mac operating systems, so an office with iMacs at the chair will need to plan around that. For a group with a standard Windows fleet, it is a non-issue.
We include Denticon because it is a well-known cloud system that many multi-location groups evaluate, but it is the weakest match to this specific topic. We could not verify a native ambient scribe on the vendor pages we reviewed. If AI-written notes are the goal, a group on Denticon may need to pair it with a third-party scribe. Ask Planet DDS what its newer DentalOS roadmap includes.
What we like- Cloud-based system built for groups of all sizes
- API connections to more than 50 third-party tools
- Packages are customized to the practice
Watch out for- Windows only, no Mac support
- We could not confirm a built-in AI notes feature on the vendor pages
How we chose
We did not run hands-on tests. Our method was desk research: vendor pricing pages and product documentation, then public review sites such as G2 and Capterra for patterns in user feedback. We checked each tool for how it handles clinical notes (templates, voice dictation, ambient AI), whether notes land in the patient chart, and which practice systems it works with.
We also looked at pricing structure (per location, per seat, per use), contract terms, free trials, platform limits and company-size fit. Where a vendor did not publish a price, the article says See website instead of using a third-party estimate. We mixed large vendors with newer ones and named the honest drawback of each.
Start with the workflow, not the feature list. A note tool that saves four minutes per visit in a demo can lose them if the clinician rewrites half of it. Ask to try your own appointment types, such as a new patient exam, a crown prep and a hygiene recall.
Decide between templates and AI
Templates are predictable. A prompt-driven system like Open Dental produces the same structure every time, costs nothing extra, and never mishears a tooth number. They are slower to fill in, and the quality depends on whoever built them.
AI scribes are faster at capture, and they write in the patient's own context. They also introduce review work, a recording step and often an added fee. Many practices land on a mix: templates for routine procedures and an AI scribe for exams and complex visits.
Confirm where the note goes
The most common complaint about add-on scribes is copy and paste. Ask each vendor whether the note writes straight into the chart, which fields it fills, and what happens if the connection drops. For native tools such as Ascend, Curve and CareStack, the note is already in the record. For standalone tools, ask for your exact software version in writing.
Check the privacy terms
Any tool that records patient conversations is handling protected health information. Ask for a signed business associate agreement, find out whether audio is stored or deleted after the note is made, and confirm where data is hosted. Do this before a trial, not after.
Price the full cost, not the starting price
The prices on this page are starting points. Look at the tier that actually includes notes (CareStack Intelligence, for example), per-use AI fees (tab32), hosting and IT (Open Dental), and any data conversion charge. Also ask about contract length and whether you can export your notes if you leave. Open Dental lists a 12-month contract, while tab32 lists none.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best dental software for clinical notes?
It depends on the style you want. Dentrix Ascend, Curve and CareStack put AI notes inside a full practice system. Denti.AI is a good fit if you want to keep your current software and add a scribe, and Open Dental suits offices that prefer templates with prompts.
Do dental AI scribes replace the dentist writing the note?
No. The tools here generate a draft, and the provider reviews and saves it. Curve states that its AI assists and does not replace clinical judgment. You remain responsible for what is signed into the record.
How much does dental clinical notes software cost?
Published starting prices on this list run from $125 per month (tab32, year one) to $1,299 per month (CareStack Intelligence, the tier with AI notes). Denti.AI starts at $399 per month on monthly billing. Dentrix Ascend and Curve require a quote, and tab32 charges AI services per use.
Can I add an AI notes tool to Dentrix or Open Dental?
Often yes, but support varies by tool and software version. Denti.AI lists Dentrix and Dentrix Ascend on its site and tells other users to contact sales. Always get written confirmation for your exact version.
Are AI dental notes HIPAA compliant?
Several vendors state HIPAA compliance, including Denti.AI and tab32. A compliance claim on a website is not enough. Ask for a business associate agreement and for details on audio storage and data hosting.
Is there a free dental notes tool?
Not a full free one among these. Open Dental offers a free trial, and tab32 offers a 14-day trial. The AI scribes mostly start with a demo or a paid plan.
Sources we checked (15)
- https://www.opendental.com/site/order.html
- https://www.opendental.com/site/opendentalcloud.html
- https://www.opendental.com/manual/autonotes.html
- https://www.opendental.com/manual/procgroupnote.html
- https://softwarefinder.com/emr-software/open-dental
- https://tab32.com/pricing/
- https://tab32.com/ai-voice-documentation/
- https://carestack.com/pricing
- https://www.curvedental.com/curve-care
- https://www.curvedental.com/pricing
- https://www.dentrixascend.com/dental-solutions/charting-imaging-and-clinical-ai/streamline-clinical-charting/
- https://www.denti.ai/pricing
- https://www.denti.ai/scribe
- https://www.denti.ai/
- https://www.planetdds.com/cloud-based-dental-software/
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has 5+ years in B2B and SaaS SEO. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.