Frequently Asked Questions | CareStack® Dental Software

FAQs

CareStack Frequently Asked Questions

If you have a question about CareStack dental software, then someone else has likely already asked about the same topic. We’ve collected a list of the most frequently asked questions, so feel free to browse by topic to find an answer. And please don’t hesitate to contact our support team for additional information!

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Online Scheduling

8 Questions

What if we only want to allow new patients to book online?

CareStack offers multiple settings to control the type of appointment being booked.

How will team members know an appointment has been booked online?

CareStack will highlight the online-booked appointment in the diary so team members are aware it was booked online. CareStack will also indicate on your menu bar any new patient appointments booked, allowing your team to communicate with the new patient about any needed documents before the appointment.

Can we allow appointment requests but not let the patient actually book an appointment?

Yes, CareStack has settings available to allow only appointment requests that works best for your practice.

Can we just allow an appointment request and not allow the patient to actually book an appointment?

Yes, CareStack has settings to allow only appointment requests (rather than booked appointments) if that works best for your practice.

Can we control what information a new patient must complete when booking online?

CareStack has a configuration tab that gives you multiple options to control what you will require for a patient to complete when booking online.

Can patients only book slots that match our scheduling rules?

Yes. Every direct booking is validated in real time against clinician availability, appointment-type rules, and patient-type logic, ensuring patients see and book only slots your practice is genuinely set up to deliver.

Can we track appointments across their full lifecycle?

Yes. CareStack tracks every appointment through Requested, Pending, Booked, Confirmed, Rescheduled, Cancelled, and Completed states, giving reception and clinical teams a single, real-time view of every appointment in flight.

Are confirmations and notifications automated for online bookings?

Yes. CareStack's native communication engine sends template-driven messages for every lifecycle event, including bookings, reschedules, and cancellations, reducing manual follow-up by reception.

Recall Management

6 Questions

What is recall management in dental practices?

Recall management is the process of reminding patients to return for routine check-ups, treatments, or follow-ups. It helps dental practices maintain consistent patient engagement, improve retention, and ensure timely care.

How does CareStack’s recall management system work?

CareStack automates the recall process by generating reminders after treatments and sending personalised messages through multiple communication channels. It also allows practices to customise recall intervals and track patient responses in real time.

Can patients book appointments directly from recall reminders?

Yes. CareStack includes direct booking links in automated recall reminders, enabling patients to book appointments instantly without calling the practice, improving conversion rates.

How does recall automation improve patient retention?

Automated recalls ensure that patients are contacted at the right time with relevant messages. This reduces missed follow-ups, increases appointment bookings, and strengthens long-term patient relationships.

Can I customise recall reminders for different patient groups?

Absolutely. CareStack allows you to tailor recall messages based on patient cohorts, preferences, and treatment history, ensuring more personalised communication and better engagement.

How can I track recall performance in my practice?

CareStack provides advanced reporting and analytics that track recall generation, appointment bookings, completed visits, and overdue recalls. These insights help practices optimise recall strategies and improve overall performance.

Membership Plans

4 Questions

How do I collect payment from my patients for an in-house membership?

Membership subscription payment management is automatic through the fully integrated CS Pay payment solution, which auto-debits funds from your patient’s card or via Direct Debit to fulfil the subscription balance. If a payment bounces, the membership goes into hold status, suspending discounts and benefits until the balance is paid and up to date.

Do I have to manually renew my patients’ membership plans each year?

With the auto-renewal option built into the patient sign-up process, your patient’s membership plan will auto-renew on the sign-up anniversary of each year, automatically creating a new payment schedule for subscription collection.

Do I have to enter the discounts manually?

All procedure codes have an automatic discount mapped to them, determined in the plan setup. Whether it’s a 100% discount, giving that procedure as a free service, or a lesser discount, the discount is not only automatically calculated at the time of treatment planning, but is also posted automatically at the time of a code completion in the patient ledger, removing the possibility of entering a wrong discount or forgetting to enter a discount altogether.

How does the membership discount affect my financial reports?

Given the uniqueness of each practice and their business needs, we created the discount to be flexible so it doesn’t impact your net production; instead, it only affects your collections. Alternatively, each financial report in CareStack lets you include or exclude the membership discount from your totals to provide a customised total based on your business model, including calculating clinician payroll based on production, collections, or applied payments.

Reputation Management

6 Questions

Can a review request be automatically sent to patients in our diary ?

CareStack's native reputation management module allows you to configure the time interval at which patients receive reviews, based on code, production type, or provider.

What if we don't want a patient to receive a review request?

You can filter out patients who may not be the right fit for receiving a review request from your practice. Eligibility rules can also automatically exclude sensitive or unsuitable clinical cases.

Can we customise what the request for a review says?

Our reputation module works much like the rest of CareStack, giving you the flexibility to create your own templated messages. We also offer out-of-the-box templates in our reputation management system.

Can you send the review request by either text or email?

Your office can send review requests to patients via text message or email, depending on the patient's communication preferences.

Can we collect feedback from patients without asking for a public review?

Yes. CareStack supports structured internal patient experience surveys alongside public review requests, helping you understand patient sentiment across every visit, not just what is published externally.

Can we see reputation trends by clinician or appointment type?

Yes. CareStack's reputation reporting includes provider-level and appointment-level trends, along with patient sentiment history and campaign engagement performance.

Opportunity Miner

5 Questions

What is Opportunity Miner?

Opportunity Miner is CareStack's patient list and engagement tool that lets practices create patient lists using PMS filters, configure how those lists are viewed, save them for reuse, and communicate directly with selected patients within CareStack. Opportunity Miner brings patient selection, list management, and outreach into a single PMS workflow, eliminating the need for separate tools or exports.

What kinds of patient lists can I build in Opportunity Miner?

Opportunity Miner lets you build lists using appointment history, treatment status, billing and outstanding balances, demographic information, and communication history. Filters inside Opportunity Miner can be combined using Any, All, or None conditions, with date-based criteria and multi-condition rules, giving you precise control over the patient cohorts you target.

Can I save and reuse patient lists in Opportunity Miner?

Yes. Every list generated in Opportunity Miner can be saved within CareStack and reopened whenever you need updated data. Common patient cohorts (such as overdue recalls or unscheduled treatments) only need to be built once in Opportunity Miner, with the saved filter logic refreshing against the latest PMS data every time you reopen the list. This also ensures every team member works from the same standardised patient selection logic.

Can I send messages to patients directly from Opportunity Miner?

Yes. Opportunity Miner supports SMS and email communication directly from the list view. You can use predefined message templates, select specific patients within an Opportunity Miner list, and send communication without ever leaving CareStack, removing the delays that come with exporting data to external tools.

Can I customise how lists are displayed and exported in Opportunity Miner?

Yes. Opportunity Miner lets you select which columns appear, reorder them to match your workflow, and adjust the layout for different operational contexts such as recalls, treatment follow-up, or financial review. When needed, Opportunity Miner lists can also be exported with their selected column structure for external reporting, administrative review, or offline analysis.

Internal Referrals

6 Questions

What is the Internal Referrals feature?

It's a CareStack feature that allows practices to refer patients to clinicians and locations within their own account, rather than to external clinicians. This keeps speciality care, second opinions, and complex cases within your practice network with full clinical and financial visibility.

How is an internal referral different from an external referral?

Internal referrals are directed to a recipient location and treatment clinician within your CareStack account, rather than to an external clinician or organization. CareStack also provides a Quick Send Referral option that allows referrals to be routed instantly to an in-house clinician.

Can we attach clinical information to internal referrals?

Yes. Internal referrals support the full range of attachments, such as clinical images from integrated imaging partners (VATech, ACTEON, 3-Shape, Itero, Carestream, Dentsply Sirona, Romexis, Sidexis, Examine Pro, Duerr Vistasoft, NewTom NNT), past treatments, medical history forms, patient overview, NHS exemption status, dental plan details, allergies, conditions, and patient documents.

Can we track how many referrals are happening inside our group?

Yes. CareStack provides referral reporting with filters for clinician, location, and date range. Reports include referral volume and the total associated referral value, helping practices measure internal referral activity and retained revenue.

Who in our practice can create or view internal referrals?

Access is controlled through profile-level permissions. Administrators can grant View Refer-Outs and Create/Edit Refer-Outs permissions to specific user profiles based on organizational requirements.

Will the in-house clinician be notified when a referral is sent to them?

Yes. If referral email notifications are enabled in CareStack Referral Settings, clinicians can be automatically notified whenever an internal referral is created and assigned to them.

Diary Management

4 Questions

Can patients schedule online?

Yes! Include a link to the Patient Portal on your practice’s website, and patients can schedule or request appointments, make payments, sign forms, and sign up to receive notifications.

Can patients book appointments through my website?

Absolutely! The CareStack diary link can be embedded into any practice website.

Does the CareStack diary allow for multiple clinicians?

Yes. The CareStack diary allows the patient to select from a list of clinicians. Each clinician’s availability will display based on the hours and parameters selected by the practice.

Does the CareStack diary allow for multiple locations?

Yes. The CareStack diary allows the patient to select their desired location from a list of practice locations or from an interactive map.

NHS Centre

1 Questions

NHS

Communications Hub

6 Questions

What is CareStack Communications Hub?

A unified inbox inside the PMS that brings SMS, email, and call activity together, giving your team one connected view of every patient conversation.

Which channels does it cover?

SMS, email, and call activity, all linked to the patient record and visible from a single inbox.

Can multiple team members see and respond to conversations?

Yes. Authorised team members can view and reply to any conversation, with full visibility of the message history.

Is every conversation saved against the patient record?

Yes. Every message is automatically linked to the patient's CareStack file, creating a complete communication history over time.

Can we search across all patient communication?

Yes. The inbox is fully searchable by patient, channel, or content, so finding any past message takes seconds.

Does Communications Hub reduce reception workload?

Yes. By centralising patient conversations in one place, your team no longer switches between tools, logs messages manually, or hunts for context.

Multi-Email Dashboard

6 Questions

What is the CareStack Multi-Email Dashboard?

A built-in email feature that integrates Google and Microsoft mailboxes with the PMS, letting your team send, receive, and track patient emails directly inside CareStack.

Which mailboxes does Multi-Email Dashboard integrate with?

Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 mailboxes, with two-way sync between your inbox and CareStack.

Are patient replies tracked automatically on the Multi-Email Dashboard?

Yes. Every reply is captured automatically and linked to the patient record, with no manual logging required.

Can we send automated recall and reminder campaigns?

Yes. CareStack supports automated recall, reminder, and engagement campaigns triggered directly from PMS data.

Can we use email templates for consistent communication?

Yes. Reusable templates help your team send consistent, brand-aligned emails for every common scenario.

Is every email saved against the patient record?

Yes. Every email is automatically linked to the patient's CareStack file, building a complete, searchable email history over time.

2-Way SMS

4 Questions

Does the text messaging view look like a text on your phone on your desktop?

Yes, the view on your desktop will mimic just as it looks as if you are texting on your mobile device.

Can I set up a text message to go out at a later date and time?

Yes, CareStack offers multiple filter options for setting up one-time or recurring texts.

Can I text one individual patient right from my main screen?

Yes, CareStack has a modern platform that lets you communicate with a patient via text while still giving you a clear view of your diary, patient accounts, etc.

Do confirmation texts from patients automatically confirm the patient's appointment in the diary?

Yes, when a patient confirms via text, it will automatically be recorded in the diary.

UK GDPR Compliance

6 Questions

What is UK GDPR compliance in dental software?

UK GDPR compliance in dental software refers to adhering to data protection regulations governing how patient information is collected, stored, and processed securely and responsibly. It typically includes controls such as encryption, access management, consent handling, and defined data handling practices to help protect sensitive patient data.

How does CareStack ensure UK GDPR compliance?

CareStack follows a privacy‑by‑design approach, integrating data protection considerations into system design and development. This includes measures such as encryption, user access controls, data minimisation, backups, and regular audits to support alignment with UK GDPR requirements.

How is patient data protected in CareStack?

Patient data is protected by measures such as encryption in transit and at rest, controlled access permissions, and monitoring processes. CareStack aims to limit data collection to information necessary for defined purposes, thereby reducing data vulnerability risks.

Does CareStack provide secure patient consent management?

Yes. CareStack offers transparent consent management tools that help patients understand and manage how their data is used, supporting UK GDPR requirements for lawful and informed consent.

What additional measures support UK GDPR compliance?

CareStack uses Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) where appropriate, has appointed a Data Protection Officer (DPO), and maintains incident response procedures. CareStack applies contractual and governance controls to third‑party vendors and suppliers to support UK GDPR requirements.

Why is UK GDPR compliance important for dental practices?

UK GDPR compliance helps dental practices manage sensitive patient data responsibly, reduce regulatory risk, and build patient trust. It supports responsible data handling while maintaining appropriate privacy and security standards.

Backups

3 Questions

How involved is my team in running data backups?

Since CareStack is a 100% cloud-based solution, backups happen automatically.

How do patient documents get backed up?

All data in your CareStack instance is automatically backed up, and patients can access their forms, statements, and treatment plans through their patient portal.

Will CareStack mitigate my risk of ransomware?

Yes, moving your patient data to the cloud removes the risk of it being encrypted and held to ransom.

Remote Access

3 Questions

Can I restrict access to CareStack outside our office hours?

Yes, you can set each user's working hours, along with IP address permissions/restrictions.

Yes! As a modern cloud-based dental software, you can simultaneously have multiple users in a patient record.

Yes! As a modern cloud-based dental software, you can simultaneously have multiple users in a single patient record.

Would I pay additional for contracted employees like insurance verification?

No, CareStack takes a simple per-location pricing approach, so you are not penalised for adding your consultant, accountant, or third-party claims service.

CS LEARN

7 Questions

What is CS Learn?

CS Learn is CareStack's integrated learning hub that lets dental practices train, upskill, and track their teams without leaving CareStack. It replaces external LMS tools like Moodle with a complete learning platform designed specifically for dental practices.

What types of courses are available in CS Learn?

CS Learn offers two types of courses - ones your practice creates internally to teach your specific workflows and SOPs, and best-practice courses curated by CareStack to help your team master proven dental practice workflows from day one.

Can we create our own courses?

Yes. CS Learn gives your practice complete control to build courses tailored to your specific workflows, SOPs, and standards. You can mix videos, text, and structured modules to create well-rounded training, and every course becomes a reusable asset you can assign whenever you need.

Can we assign training to specific people or teams?

Yes. You can assign courses to individual users, specific roles, or entire teams across multiple locations. This makes it easy to roll out training consistently, whether you're onboarding a single new hire or pushing a new SOP across your entire group.

How do we track who has completed their training?

CS Learn lets you track progress at both the individual and practice-wide level. You can see who has started, completed, or fallen behind on assigned courses, helping you identify learning gaps and stay audit-ready with clear records of completed training.

How is CS Learn different from the previous CareStack video library?

What used to be a simple library of videos is now a complete learning platform. CS Learn adds structured course creation, assignment, progress tracking, and a curated best-practice library, turning passive viewing into active, trackable team training.

Do staff need a separate login to access CS Learn?

No. CS Learn is built directly into CareStack, so staff access their learning from the same platform they already use every day. No extra logins, no switching between tools, and no friction in their workflow.

Patient Notifications

3 Questions

Will my patient receive an email or text when we send patient communications?

Patients can opt to receive email, text, or both, and this setting is added to the patient's chart online, automatically determining the type of communication they receive. You can also customise the communication you deliver depending on the options the patient has chosen.

Can I schedule a time for patient notifications to be sent?

Yes, the filter options let you pre-schedule notifications or set up recurring communications.

Is patient communication built into CareStack, or do we have to navigate to other software?

CareStack's patient notification/communication is built into our all-in-one software; there is no need to launch a separate program.

Appointment Confirmations

5 Questions

Does the automated system update the patient appointment in the diary?

Yes, when patients reply to the automated message, it will update the patient record inside of CareStack. The appointment status updates automatically across the diary, ensuring reception and clinical teams always see the latest confirmation state.

Can you easily change the type of message a patient receives?

CareStack allows your staff to easily adjust communication preferences under patient overview. We allow patients to change preferences through their patient portal.

Can I migrate my existing campaigns over to CareStack?

During the onboarding process, our team of implementation specialists will work with your team to optimise your confirmation campaigns inside CareStack.

Can confirmation messages be triggered by appointment changes such as rescheduling?

Yes. CareStack's lifecycle-driven messaging automatically sends communication for every appointment event, including bookings, confirmations, reschedules, and cancellations, so patients always receive timely and consistent updates.

Can we track confirmation status in real time?

Yes. The centralised dashboard shows real-time confirmation status across every appointment, alongside delivery rates, response rates, and the production value of confirmed appointments.

Online Forms

7 Questions

Can I create my own forms or edit an existing one?

Yes, you can create your own form and edit or delete existing ones.

Can I add a witness's signature to a form?

Yes, you can select which signatures are required: patient, provider, and/or witness.

Can I remove/unshare an online form that has already been shared?

Yes, you can remove previously shared forms. CareStack allows you to do it with one click.

How do I know if the patient has already signed the form?

CareStack provides access to real-time document status, indicating whether a form is still pending completion.

Can patients update their medical history between appointments?

Yes. Patients can update their medical history through the portal or at the kiosk during check-in, with every submission syncing in real time to the patient chart and previous versions locked for audit purposes.

Can we generate referral letters and treatment summaries from patient data?

Yes. Office Wizard lets you build dynamic Word templates that auto-fill patient and clinician details directly from the PMS, ensuring fast, consistent, and error-free clinical documentation.

Are digital consent forms audit-ready?

Yes. Every digital consent is captured with eSignature, linked to the patient record, and stored with a complete audit trail, making compliance reviews and medico-legal documentation straightforward.

Patient Portal

6 Questions

Do I have to allow the patient to see their balance due?

No. You can configure the Patient Portal settings to control what financial information patients can view, including whether balances are displayed.

Can my spouse see my account information?

Only the responsible party has access to the full account information. If a spouse uses their own email address, they can access only their own account details.

Can anyone else log in under my email address?

No. CareStack uses 2-factor authentication, requiring a verification code sent to your email address before access is granted.

Can the patient request different appointment types through the Patient Portal?

Yes. If your production diary is configured, patients can view availability and request specific appointment types such as recall visits and emergency examinations.

Is patient data secure?

Yes. The Patient Portal is protected with 2-factor authentication, secure access controls, and GDPR-aligned data handling. All patient data is stored securely within the CareStack PMS.

Can patients complete forms before their visit?

Yes. Patients can complete medical history and consent forms online before their appointment. Submitted forms are automatically saved to the patient record, helping your team prepare in advance.

Patient Kiosk

7 Questions

How can I ensure patients can only see their own information?

Patients will log in with their last name and DOB. They will only be able to see their information for that day's appointment. In Kiosk mode, once they have checked in will be automatically logged out after 10 seconds to prevent another patient from accessing their information.

Will patients be able to see all proposed treatments in Kiosk mode?

No, they will only see accepted treatment. All proposed treatments will be visible only in Office and Provider Modes.

Can I have a new patient register using Patient Connect?

Yes! Registering as a new patient is available in Kiosk Mode.

Do I have the capability to limit the fields patients need to complete in Kiosk mode?

Yes, you can select which information is requested from patients and decide whether it is mandatory.

Is the kiosk suitable for both NHS and private patient intake?

Yes. The kiosk supports both NHS and private patient workflows, capturing the right forms, consents, and patient details for each appointment type and syncing everything into the CareStack PMS.

Are digital consents captured at the kiosk audit-ready?

Yes. Every consent signed at the kiosk is captured digitally with a full audit trail and stored securely inside the PMS, supporting GDPR-aligned data handling and medico-legal documentation requirements.

Can multi-location practices apply the same kiosk workflow across sites?

Yes. The Patient Kiosk is fully multi-location compatible, allowing you to apply consistent intake, forms, and consent workflows across every site, all governed centrally from one PMS.

Patient Chat

5 Questions

What is CareStack Patient Chat?

A built-in messaging feature that lets dental practices communicate with patients directly from inside the PMS, with every conversation linked to the patient record and saved automatically.

How is it different from regular SMS or email?

Patient Chat lives inside the PMS, visible to your whole team, with automatic conversation history. Nothing gets siloed in personal inboxes or lost when staff change.

Can multiple team members respond to the same conversation?

Yes. Any authorised team member can view and reply, with the full context of previous messages available.

Are conversations saved automatically?

Yes. Every conversation is saved against the patient record, with no manual logging required.

Does Patient Chat reduce phone calls to reception?

Yes. Routine patient queries move off the phone and into structured messaging, freeing reception time for in-practice care.

Treatment Planning

7 Questions

How easy is it to treatment plan?

Easy! Propose treatment in either the odontogram or the Advanced Planner. Then right-click on the treatments to place them in plans or phases.

Can you have plans and phases?

Yes! Use plans or phases for your work. Put all your treatment in a plan or section it out into phases. Allowing you to give the patient all the work needed or a piece of it at a time.

Can you assign timeframes to your treatment?

Sure! Assign the time needed to your proposed treatment, making it easy for your team to schedule work that needs completion and making it a breeze to plan.

How can we get the patient their treatment plan?

Print, email, or place into the Patient Portal, allowing patients to access at their convenience and consent to proposed treatment. Patients can also pay their balance directly through the CareStack Patient Portal.

Are financial estimates generated automatically?

Yes. CareStack auto-generates financial breakdowns from the procedures in each plan, with full multi-phase costing linked directly to the treatment structure. Any change to the plan updates the costing instantly.

Is digital treatment plan acceptance audit-ready?

Yes. Every digital acceptance is captured with a complete audit trail and stored in the patient record, supporting clinical governance, compliance, and medico-legal documentation requirements.

Can we track treatment plan progress across the practice?

Yes. CareStack tracks every plan across accepted, pending, and declined statuses in real time, with full version history of updates and linkage to scheduled appointments, ensuring nothing slips between planning and delivery.

Treatment Charting

4 Questions

Can clinical findings be updated during a consultation?

Yes. Clinicians can record and update findings directly on the graphical tooth chart in real time, with all entries saved instantly to the patient record in the PMS.

Does CareStack support periodontal charting and BPE scoring?

Yes. General charting, periodontal charting, and BPE scores can all be captured within the same interface, ensuring structured periodontal documentation alongside other clinical findings.

Are charting records available across the PMS?

Yes. All clinical findings are stored in the patient file and accessible across CareStack, supporting treatment planning and ongoing clinical workflows without manual re-entry.

Can multiple clinicians and locations use the same charting system?

Yes. Structured, standardised charting ensures consistent documentation across clinicians and locations, with a complete clinical history maintained centrally for every patient.

Clinical Notes

7 Questions

Are your notes customisable?

Absolutely! CareStack Clinical Notes can be blast notes, templates with clickable buttons, or fill-in.

When can notes be written?

Notes can be written by the clinician at any time. Some clinicians choose to write notes before, during, or after a procedure.

Can each clinician have their own notes?

Yes! Each clinician can have notes built to their liking. Clinicians can specify what they would like to see in their notes for each procedure.

How do I finalise my notes?

Notes can be finalised from the main note screen or the Incomplete Notes List on the main dashboard at any time. Click on the note, then finalise with a password (if you wish). Log in from home for convenience!

Are clinical notes audit-ready for governance purposes?

Yes. Every note is captured with a full lifecycle history (draft, in-progress, completed) and any addendums added after finalisation are tracked in the record history, supporting clinical governance, audit readiness, and medico-legal documentation requirements.

Can we standardise note templates across multiple practice locations?

Yes. CareStack Clinical Notes supports reusable templates that can be applied across every clinician and location, ensuring consistent, structured documentation throughout your group with no variation between sites.

Can I see which notes are still incomplete across the practice?

Yes. Live note tracking shows every note's status in real time, helping you identify missing or incomplete documentation across clinicians and locations at a glance.

Prescription Management

4 Questions

Do I need any third-party software for prescriptions?

No. CareStack allows you to create, record, and print prescriptions directly within the system.

Can I print prescriptions for patients?

Yes. Prescriptions can be printed and handed to patients as needed.

Is there any limit on the number of prescriptions I can create?

No. There is no limit on the number of prescriptions you can create in CareStack.

Can I track prescriptions across providers?

Yes. CareStack provides reporting capabilities to analyse prescriptions by provider and time period.

Integrated Imaging

7 Questions

Which imaging systems does CareStack integrate with?

CareStack integrates with leading imaging ecosystems, including 3Shape, iTero, and AEKA-enabled workflows, with CareStack Link providing one-way bridges to a range of imaging devices.

Do clinicians need to leave the PMS to view patient images?

No. CareStack brings imaging access directly into the clinical chart, so clinicians can view radiographs, scans, and digital impressions without ever switching systems.

Are images linked to the patient record automatically?

Yes. Every image accessed through CareStack stays linked to the patient record, ensuring full continuity between imaging, clinical notes, and treatment planning.

Can I view 3Shape and iTero scans inside CareStack?

Yes. Both 3Shape scans and iTero intraoral scans can be viewed from the patient record, supporting orthodontic, restorative, and Invisalign workflows directly from the clinical chart.

How does CareStack Link work with my imaging devices?

CareStack Link provides one-way bridges between imaging devices and the CareStack PMS, automatically importing images into the patient record and allowing external viewers to be launched from the clinical chart.

Does Integrated Imaging speed up clinical decisions?

Yes. Because imaging is accessible from the same workspace as clinical notes and treatment plans, clinicians can make faster, better-informed decisions at the chairside without breaking workflow.

Can patients see their imaging during consultations?

Yes. Clinicians can open imaging directly from the chart during consultations, supporting clearer patient communication and better treatment acceptance.

Digital Radiographs

4 Questions

Will my existing sensors work with CareStack?

Yes, we support most intraoral sensors through direct integration into our cloud-based imaging software.

Are my images accessible from any location?

Once an image is captured, it is available in the cloud-based imaging viewer for diagnostic review or editing.

Can I send images to referral doctors?

The CareStack referral portal allows you to attach patient images and other documents you need to share with your referral partners.

What imaging programmes are compatible with CareStack?

CareStack can provide a bridge to the following imaging softwares:

Implant Tracker

3 Questions

Do I have to pay extra for the implant tracker software?

No. The implant tracker module is bundled into the cost of CareStack's practice management platform.

Is there any limit on the number of suppliers I can create?

No. There is no limit on the number of suppliers and data records you can create from within CareStack's implant tracker module.

What training or support is available for our staff?

Training for implant tracking will be available for staff members as part of their onboarding process. Training is also provided by the CareStack implementation team at the time of onboarding into CareStack.

Voice Perio

5 Questions

What is Voice Perio in dental software?

Voice Perio is a voice-activated periodontal charting tool that allows dentists and hygienists to record probing depths and other periodontal measurements using voice commands.

How does voice-activated perio charting work?

Clinicians simply speak periodontal measurements during the exam, and the software automatically enters the data into the digital perio chart.

What periodontal data can be recorded with Voice Perio?

Voice Perio can capture measurements such as pocket depth, bleeding, plaque, and other periodontal indicators.

Does Voice Perio integrate with the clinical chart?

Yes. Voice Perio updates the patient's perio chart and clinical record in real time, ensuring accurate, synchronised documentation.

How does Voice Perio charting improve efficiency?

Voice-based charting allows clinicians to record periodontal measurements as they perform the exam, reducing charting time and improving workflow efficiency.

Perio Charting

5 Questions

What is digital perio charting in dental software?

Digital perio charting records periodontal data like bleeding, plaque, and pocket depth directly in the patient's clinical chart for accurate tracking.

How does perio charting help dentists monitor gum health?

Perio charting lets dentists compare past and current charts to track periodontal health and detect disease progression.

What information can be recorded in a perio chart?

A perio chart can capture data such as bleeding on probing, plaque levels, pocket depths, and other periodontal indicators.

Can Perio Charting integrate with dental clinical records?

Yes. Our modern perio charting systems update the clinical chart in real time, keeping patient records accurate and complete.

Does digital perio charting save time for dental teams?

Yes. Features such as voice-activated charting and automated updates help dental teams complete periodontal assessments more quickly.

Lab Case Management

3 Questions

Do I have to pay extra for the lab case tracking software?

No. The lab case-tracking module is included in the cost of CareStack's practice management platform.

Does the lab tracking system send emails to labs?

No. The lab case tracking module can only be used to track orders internally. There is no communication to the labs from CareStack.

Is there a limit on the number of labs that can be managed?

No. You add and manage any number of lab orders and lab cases using the CareStack lab tracking module.

Online Payments

4 Questions

What are some benefits of patients receiving their bills online?

It is fast and convenient. Patients won’t misplace their bills. Patients can receive bills at any time and from any place.

What are the benefits of patients paying their bills online?

Paying online gives patients the flexibility to pay anytime, from anywhere. Our clients report being paid much quicker when utilising online payments.

How long does it take for payments to process online?

Online payments are posted directly to the ledger against completed treatment instantly.

How secure are online payments?

All transactions are processed through a secure website, and all transactions are encrypted. Any personal information entered, such as credit card information, will be used only for the one-time transaction and will not be saved on our system or shared for any other purpose.

Pay By Text

5 Questions

Which merchant processor partners with CareStack's Pay-By-Text?

The CS Pay merchant offers the SMS Gateway to enable electronic payments.

Where can I find the Pay-By-Text button in the PMS?

Inside CareStack, you will see the Pay-By-Text button on the Home Dashboard, Appointment Summary, and Patient Ledger.

Will the payment link be automatically integrated within CareStack?

Dental practices need to manually set up the CS Pay link within the PMS's settings, but it takes only a few clicks.

Will the Pay-By-Text be linked to the Patient Account?

Yes, it will be linked to the patient's mobile number, and every member related to the Responsible Party account will be listed under the same number.

Does an advance payment count toward a clinician's payments/revenue?

Not until they are posted against the completed treatment code.

Multi Payor Management

7 Questions

Can CareStack manage NHS and private treatment in the same plan?

Yes. CareStack supports payor assignment at the procedure code level, so a single treatment plan can include NHS, private, and plan-funded procedures side by side, with each billed correctly to the right payor.

Can I assign a default payor to each patient?

Yes. Every patient can be assigned a default payor type (NHS, private, or plan), which governs how their treatments are created and billed across their full lifecycle, without your team needing to select the payor at every visit.

How does CareStack support converting NHS patients into private treatment?

CareStack enables structured conversion at the procedure code or treatment plan level within the same patient journey, with no break in clinical continuity. Private alternatives can be presented during treatment planning, helping practices grow private revenue while maintaining a smooth patient experience.

Can I see revenue split by NHS, private, and plan-based treatment?

Yes. CareStack's reporting aggregates performance by payor type across the practice, providing full visibility of revenue split by clinician, location, and funding model.

Does the system integrate with membership and payment plans?

Yes. Multi-Payor Management integrates directly with membership and payment plans, mapping treatments automatically to plan entitlements and reducing manual reconciliation between plan-funded and self-pay care.

Can I override the payor on individual procedures?

Yes. You can assign a payor type at the treatment plan level for simplicity, then override individual procedure codes within the plan where clinically or financially required, giving full flexibility without added complexity.

Is Multi-Payer Management suitable for multi-location practices?

Yes. CareStack applies consistent payor logic across every site in your group, with centralised reporting and governance that rolls up by location, clinician, or payor type, ensuring consistent financial control at scale.

Payment Plans

3 Questions

My front desk team isn't very good at calculations. Can they still create payment plans?

Absolutely. If the patient needs to make payments for treatment, your team can create the payment plan with CareStack's payment plan wizard to ensure all elements are covered, and the terms are acceptable to your patient and you.

Can we create payment plans with quarterly payments?

Your payment plans can have nearly any schedule (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, or even half-yearly or yearly) to accommodate almost any patient need. It's also easy to skip payments for unforeseen circumstances.

How do I know if an automatic payment was completed?

The Payment Plan Control Centre provides a comprehensive overview of all your upcoming payments, including key figures such as collected and failed payments. Also, easily sort and filter the worklist of plans by plan status and other metrics.

Patient Financing

4 Questions

Can we record third-party financing payments in CareStack?

Yes. CareStack makes it easy to record third-party financing payments directly within the patient record.

Is it easy to set up TPF charges?

Yes. TPF charges can be set up easily in CareStack, helping practices maintain accurate financial records.

Does this help with month-end reporting?

Yes. CareStack helps reduce the hassle of month-end reporting by making financed payments easier to track and reconcile.

Can this support dentist payout calculations?

Yes. With properly recorded finance payments, practices can more easily report when calculating associate payouts after finance charges are deducted.

Credit Card Processing

4 Questions

Does CS Pay store credit card information?

No, it does not store credit card information directly for security purposes. You can tokenise the card to secure its information for future payments in a more encrypted form.

Is tokenisation with CS Pay required?

Yes, it is essential to tokenise the card with CS Pay in order for recurring payments to be captured automatically from the patient's account. Yet payment plans can be started without a card on file, but the automated capture of periodic payments will not occur.

If a client deletes a payment in CareStack, will it read back into CS Pay?

Yes, it will be read back into CS Pay, but only if they completely void the payment.

Does our office have to use your merchant?

It is not required to use CareStack, but there are many benefits to using an integrated merchant rather than an external one.

Provider Tagging

7 Questions

What is Provider Payment Attribution?

It's a CareStack feature that lets your practice link a specific provider to every payment receipt created in the system. This enables accurate collection-based reporting and helps your practice track income flow at the provider level.

Can we make provider payment attribution mandatory?

Yes. The Mandatory Provider Payment Attribution setting forces the Provider field to be filled in for every payment, ensuring no collection goes untagged.

What happens if a payment is applied to a treatment from a different provider?

If the cross-provider warning is enabled, CareStack displays a warning when you try to apply a payment using a receipt tagged to a different provider than the one who completed the treatment. This helps prevent misattribution during payment posting.

How does provider payment attribution work with Payment Plans?

When creating a Payment Plan, you select a Receipt Provider, and every receipt generated through that plan is automatically tagged to them. You can view tagged providers in the Payment Plan Control Centre. If you edit the provider later, the change applies only to new receipts created after the edit, while historical receipts remain unchanged.

What if a receipt was created with no provider tagged?

You can tag a provider to any receipt marked as "None" by editing its Payment Details. The same applies to Payment Plans with no provider attached.

How does Provider Payment Attribution change our reports?

Collection-based reports now support a Receipt Provider filter, including the Paying-In Slip Report, Income Allocation Extended Report, and Payment Log Report. The Income Allocation Extended Report also includes new Payments and Allocated Payments columns and views, with filters by Payment Category, Payment Type, and Payment Method.

Does Provider Payment Attribution work with auto-tagging?

Yes. CareStack supports provider auto-tagging, reducing the need for manual entry while keeping collections accurately attributed. You can learn how auto-tagging works directly within the configuration screen.

Practice Analytics

7 Questions

What is Practice Analytics?

Practice Analytics is CareStack's structured PMS-based reporting layer. It provides three focused dashboards—Revenue, Collections, and NHS—each featuring six interactive supercards with drill-down capabilities into time-based trends, clinician performance, location performance, and individual record-level data.

How are the dashboards structured?

Each dashboard focuses on a specific area of practice performance. The Revenue Dashboard tracks treatment value delivered, the Collections Dashboard focuses on payment flow and cash collection performance, and the NHS Dashboard monitors UDA activity, claim performance, and contract delivery.

What are supercards?

Supercards are interactive KPI summaries that provide a high-level view of key performance metrics. Each dashboard contains six supercards, and each one serves as an entry point into deeper analysis with one-click access to the underlying data.

Can I drill down from headline figures to individual records?

Yes. Every supercard supports drill-down from aggregated metrics into time-based trends, clinician and location breakdowns, and the individual PMS records that generated the reported figures, providing complete audit traceability.

Can I filter the dashboards by clinician and location?

Yes. Practice Analytics supports dynamic filtering by time period, clinician, and location. Filters are applied consistently across dashboard supercards and all drill-down views, ensuring every layer of analysis remains synchronized.

Is Practice Analytics suitable for multi-location practices?

Yes. Practice Analytics is designed for multi-location organizations and supports centralized reporting across practice groups. Location filters allow performance analysis at the individual practice, regional, or group-wide level using the same reporting framework.

Is the data in Practice Analytics real-time?

Yes. All metrics in Practice Analytics are based on live PMS data, ensuring dashboards reflect the current operational state of the practice rather than relying on delayed exports or static snapshots.

Front Office Dashboards

6 Questions

What are CareStack Front Office Dashboards?

CareStack Front Office Dashboards are a suite of six PMS-native dashboards (Planner, Day List, Huddle, To-Do Lists, Performance, and Goals) that bring live appointment scheduling, daily coordination, task tracking, and performance visibility into a single workspace inside CareStack. Front Office Dashboards use live PMS data to support day-to-day front office operations in UK dental practices.

What does the Planner dashboard do, and how is it different from the Day List?

The Planner dashboard provides a live visual view of the diary, with every booking, change, and cancellation reflected the moment they happen, plus one-click access to patient records. The Day List dashboard shows the same scheduled activity as a structured list-based view, helping teams interpret the day as a sequence of patient touchpoints rather than isolated appointments.

What is the Huddle dashboard used for?

The Huddle dashboard provides a consolidated view of daily practice activity, including the day’s appointment overview, a summary of scheduled patient activity, and an aggregated view of practice operations. It's designed to support daily team alignment and is typically used in morning huddle meetings before the first patient arrives, with every figure drawn from live PMS data.

What does the Performance dashboard show?

The Performance dashboard provides structured visibility of practice activity using live PMS data. It includes revenue metrics, collections metrics, appointment activity metrics, clinician-level breakdowns, location-level breakdowns, time-based comparisons, and drill-down into underlying records, allowing teams to review practice activity in real time rather than waiting for end-of-day reporting.

How do Goals and To-Do Lists work in Front Office Dashboards?

The Goals dashboard lets you define performance targets at the practice, clinician, or location level and track progress against those targets in real time using live PMS activity data. To-Do Lists allow operational tasks to be created, assigned, and tracked directly within CareStack, keeping team coordination in the same PMS environment as scheduling, and eliminating the need for separate task management tools.

Are Front Office Dashboards suitable for multi-location dental practices, and is the data real-time?

Yes to both. Front Office Dashboards apply a consistent dashboard structure across every site in your group, with location filters and centralised reporting that rolls up performance at the practice, regional, or group level. Every figure shown is drawn from live PMS data, so appointment changes, task updates, and performance metrics all reflect the current operational state of your practice, not an exported snapshot from earlier in the day.

Scorecards

7 Questions

What are CareStack Scorecards?

CareStack Scorecards are a PMS-native performance reporting tool that lets dental practices configure structured scorecards using live PMS data. Each scorecard includes a name, description, date range, focus type, service-type filters where applicable, and a selection of system-defined metrics, providing a reusable, standardised reporting output that can be run, saved, and regenerated whenever needed.

Why do dental practices need Scorecards?

Dental practices often rely on multiple reporting outputs to track performance across locations, clinicians, and time periods. This leads to inconsistent metric definitions and fragmented reporting. Scorecards solve this by providing a single PMS-native mechanism to configure performance metric sets, generate structured outputs, standardise metric definitions across the practice, and reuse configured reporting definitions over time.

How do I configure a Scorecard in CareStack?

You configure a Scorecard by selecting a report name and description, setting a date range, choosing the report focus type, applying service type filters where relevant, and selecting from a library of system-defined metrics. Once configured, the Scorecard is saved within CareStack and can be run on demand. Each Scorecard represents a reusable reporting definition.

Can I include multiple metrics in a single Scorecard?

Yes. CareStack Scorecards let you include multiple metrics in a single report, reorder them to control the report structure, and define exactly which performance indicators are included. This ensures consistent metric grouping across every run of the Scorecard, eliminating the variation that typically comes with ad-hoc reporting.

Can Scorecards be reused and regenerated?

Yes. Every Scorecard saved in CareStack can be re-run with updated data and parameters at any time. You can also regenerate any Scorecard as your underlying PMS data evolves, with no need to rebuild filter logic or metric selections. This makes Scorecards genuinely reusable assets, supporting consistent reporting cadences and standardised performance reviews.

Can I download Scorecards for external reporting?

Yes. Generated Scorecards can be downloaded for use in board reports, partner meetings, performance reviews, or shared with external advisers like accountants and consultants. The output reflects the selected metrics and configured filters at the time of generation.

Are Scorecards suitable for multi-location dental practices?

Yes. CareStack Scorecards are designed to support multi-location dental practices, ensuring consistent metric definitions across every site in your group. By standardising reporting at the scorecard level, multi-location practices eliminate the manual reconciliation that comes from comparing inconsistent outputs across locations.

Custom Reporting

7 Questions

What is CareStack Custom Reporting?

CareStack Custom Reporting is a support-assisted reporting extension feature that enables UK dental practices to request and generate bespoke reports when standard Operational Reports, Practice Analytics, or Scorecards don't meet their reporting needs. Custom Reports are designed around validated PMS data and delivered ready to run inside CareStack.

When should I use Custom Reporting instead of standard CareStack reports?

Use Custom Reporting when your practice has non-standard data groupings, bespoke financial breakdowns, customised operational views, or practice-specific reporting structures not covered by the existing report library. Operational Reports handle standard needs, Practice Analytics handles exploratory analysis, and Scorecards handle reusable KPI definitions. Custom Reporting fills the gap when none of those quite fit.

How does the Custom Reporting request process work?

The process follows five structured steps: identify the reporting requirement that isn't met by existing reports, submit a request via CareStack support, validate whether the requirement can be met using PMS data, define the report structure and logic, and deliver the report for use within the system. The CareStack support team works collaboratively with your practice throughout the process.

Can I run Custom Reports more than once?

Yes. Once a Custom Report has been delivered, it can be run repeatedly without any reconfiguration. You can adjust filter values per run, but the core reporting logic remains consistent across every execution, ensuring your team always compares like-for-like data and supports repeatable reporting cadences.

What kinds of customisation are possible in Custom Reports?

Custom Reports can include defined filter criteria, structured output formats, time-based parameters, and location or clinician segmentation. Reports are designed around validated PMS data, ensuring outputs are always accurate and aligned with your operational reality. Your CareStack support team works with you to define the exact structure during the design phase.

Are Custom Reports suitable for multi-location dental practices?

Yes. CareStack Custom Reporting is particularly valuable for multi-location dental practices and DSOs, where reporting requirements often involve bespoke financial groupings, regional segmentation, NHS and private hybrid logic, and practice-specific structures that standard reports can't fully capture.

How is Custom Reporting different from Operational Reports, Practice Analytics, and Scorecards?

Operational Reports provide CareStack's predefined report library covering standard practice needs. Practice Analytics provides exploratory dashboards with drill-down KPIs. Scorecards provide a reusable KPI definition layer. Custom Reporting sits alongside all three as a request-based extension mechanism, used specifically when reporting needs go beyond what those standard tools can deliver.

Operational Reports

6 Questions

What are CareStack Operational Reports?

CareStack Operational Reports are a predefined library of structured reports built directly into the PMS, covering appointment activity, revenue performance, payment collections, NHS reporting, and operational support. Operational Reports provide UK dental practices with consistent, repeatable reporting outputs drawn from live PMS data, with standardised filter logic and structured outputs designed for cross-team use.

What types of reports are included in the Operational Reports library?

The Operational Reports library covers five core categories: Appointment Reports (including utilisation and scheduling analysis), Revenue Reports (including clinician and procedure output), Collection Reports (including payments, reconciliation, and deposits), NHS Reports (where applicable to your practice), and Operational Support Reports (covering workflow and activity tracking).

How do I generate a report in CareStack Operational Reports?

Every report follows the same consistent generation pattern: select the report you need from the library, apply your filters (such as date range, clinician, and location), choose your view type where applicable, and generate the structured output. This consistent model ensures every report behaves the same way, making it easy for any team member to run any report without retraining.

Can I save filter configurations for repeat reporting?

Yes. CareStack Operational Reports lets you save filter configurations so you can reuse report setups indefinitely. Saved filters standardise reporting definitions across your team, reduce repeated configuration effort, and keep reporting consistent across weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual reporting cycles.

Can Operational Reports be filtered by clinician, location, and time period?

Yes. Every Operational Report supports filtering by time period, clinician, and location, with additional report-specific parameters where relevant. Filters ensure consistent reporting output across different report types, allowing like-for-like comparisons between time periods, between clinicians, and across multi-site practices.

Are Operational Reports suitable for multi-location dental practices?

Yes. CareStack Operational Reports are designed for both single-location practices and multi-site dental groups, with location-level filtering and rollup views that aggregate performance across the entire group. This makes the library equally valuable for growing dental start-ups, mid-sized groups, and large DSOs.

Clinician Payroll

8 Questions

What is Clinician Payroll?

Clinician Payroll is CareStack's built-in payroll management feature that lets UK dental practices generate, review, and publish clinician payouts directly inside the system. It handles revenue calculations, lab case costs, daily minimum guarantees, additions, and deductions in a single secure workflow, removing the need for spreadsheets or third-party payroll tools.

What pay frequencies does Clinician Payroll support?

You can run Clinician Payroll on a Monthly, Weekly, Fortnightly, or Custom date range. For standard frequencies, the end date is set automatically based on the start date. For Custom periods, you can freely choose both the start and end dates.

How does Clinician Payroll handle lab case costs?

By default, lab cases are included based on their receipt date within the selected payroll period. You can also customise the date range or manually edit the Total Lab Case Cost during the review step. The "Include Lab Case in Payroll" option lets you pay lab costs even when lab case deduction is enabled on the profile.

Can payroll values be edited before publishing?

Yes. During review, you can manually edit the Total Lab Case Cost and the number of working days used for the Daily Minimum Guarantee. Both edits are tracked inside CareStack, and you can view their history at any time, supporting full audit transparency.

How does Clinician Payroll work for clinicians across multiple locations?

For clinicians working at multiple locations, the payroll includes a summary section showing payouts per location, along with a detailed breakdown of how each location's payout was calculated. This gives complete transparency for multi-site practices and supports accurate financial attribution per site.

Can payroll records be downloaded from CareStack?

Yes. You can download an individual clinician's payroll from the View screen or download the entire batch using the Download All option at the top right of the batch view to support external reporting, accountant reviews, or partner discussions.

How does Clinician Payroll handle voided or corrected payroll batches?

You can void an entire batch using the Void option. Once voided, the batch is nullified, and since only one active payroll can exist per clinician per date range, voiding is required before generating a replacement payroll for the same period.

Is Clinician Payroll suitable for multi-location dental practices?

Yes. Clinician Payroll is built for both single-location practices and multi-site dental groups, with location-level filtering, per-location payout breakdowns for clinicians working across sites, and centralised payroll history that scales from growing practices to large DSOs.

Who we serve

5 Questions

Single-site Dental PracticeMulti-site Dental PracticeSquat Dental PracticeDSOs & Dental EnterprisesNHS & Mixed PracticesImplants & Oral Surgery PracticesOrthodontic PracticesPaediatric PracticesPeriodontic PracticesEndodontic PracticesProsthodontic Practices

Is CareStack too complex for a small or solo practice?

Not at all. CareStack is designed to be intuitive and scalable, with a clean interface that makes it easy for single-location practices to get started and grow. With our virtual implementation & training, on-demand learning platform, and our dedicated support teams, we help you learn the platform at various stages of your journey with us.

How can CareStack help reduce admin time at a single location?

CareStack automates everyday tasks like appointment confirmations, patient communication, and billing workflows, significantly reducing manual effort at the front desk.

Can I manage scheduling, billing, and charting in CareStack without switching to another system?

Yes. CareStack is a complete, all-in-one platform that allows you to manage clinical and administrative workflows without relying on multiple tools.

Does CareStack help single-site practices compete with larger dental groups?

Yes. Features like online booking, two-way texting, and patient engagement tools help smaller practices deliver a modern patient experience and stay competitive.

What kind of support does CareStack offer for single-location practices?

CareStack provides onboarding assistance, training, and ongoing support to ensure your practice can smoothly adopt and fully utilise the system.

Support

4 Questions

What are the Customer Support hours?

Our Customer Support is available Monday to Friday, 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, and Saturday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM (GMT), via chat and email. Please note that hours may vary during holidays.

How long are the wait times for Customer Support?

We guarantee you will be in touch with a live Customer Support Representative via chat and phone call in under one minute, though most of our clients report that they don't experience any wait times at all.

Are there any other immediate resources available to me besides Customer Support?

Absolutely! We have many articles available in our User Resource Center with guided instructions on how to navigate the system and perform certain tasks. Where can I access Customer Support?

Where can I access Customer Support?

After you are logged into CareStack, open your System Menu and click on Support Chat which can be found under Support and Assistance.

See CareStack in Action!

CareStack's modern User Interface is easy to learn. You can also use our learning center to swiftly onboard new staff.

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