Release Notes: May, 29 2024

There is a new security right that allows a user to change the password for his or her own user account. Prior to this, for users to be able to change their passwords, they had to be granted the “Edit User” right, which meant they had permission to modify any user’s account details. Now, users that should not have permission to edit all user accounts can be granted the new security right to allow them to change their own passwords.

The new security right is called Change Password and is under the Settings category on the User Roles page (go to Settings > User Roles). By default, this right is not selected for any user role, so each role must be updated manually:

• If a given role has the Edit User checkbox selected but shouldn’t any longer, clear that checkbox, and select the Change Password checkbox.
• If a given role does not have the Edit User checkbox selected and still shouldn’t, select the Change Password checkbox.

To save the change, click Save. The change will take effect the next time users log in to Dentrix Ascend.

Note: The user does not have to have the Change Password right selected if the Edit User right is selected. But if the user does not have access to modify other users’ accounts, the Change Password right is required to allow the user to change his or her own password.

With either of these rights granted, you can change your password by doing the following:

1. On the User menu, click (or tap) My Account.

The My Account page opens.

2. On the Change Password tab, enter your Current Password, and then enter a new password in the New Password and Confirm New Password boxes.

3. Click (or tap) Save.

There has been a change to how long patient forms are editable. Now, you can edit a patient form only if Dentrix Ascend received it within the past two weeks. After that, you will no longer be able to make changes to the form.

To edit a patient form within the two weeks of the patient submitting it, do the following:

1. Select the correct form, using one of the following methods:

• On a patient’s Overview page, in the Patient Forms box, click a form that has a Received status.
  
• On the Patient Forms tab of a patient’s record, expand the section that corresponds to a form type that has completed forms to view the patient’s form history, and then click (or tap) the desired form.
  
• While viewing a patient’s appointment, position your pointer over Forms. In the pop-up box that appears, click a form that has a Received status.
  
• While confirming a patient’s appointment, position your pointer over Forms. In the pop-up box that appears, click a form that has a Received status.
  
• While viewing the Chart tab of a patient’s clinical record, position your pointer over Forms. In the pop-up box that appears, click a form that has a Received status.
  

The completed form appears in a dialog box.

2. Click (or tap) the Edit button .

Some payers may require tooth numbers as the treatment area for a periapical (PA) imaging procedure that is included on a claim. Prior to this release, the treatment area for a PA imaging procedure was always omitted on a claim. To help reduce rejected claims due to a missing treatment area, Dentrix Ascend now provides a way for you to post a PA imaging procedure with optional tooth numbers. You can also now edit a posted PA imaging procedure to specify the tooth numbers, which may be needed if, for example, you post the procedure as part of a multi-code. The procedure codes that are affected by this new functionality are D0220, D0230, and D0707.

Notice the following on the Progress Notes tab of a patient’s clinical record:

• If you chart a PA imaging procedure with teeth selected on the Chart or Quick Exam tab, the tooth numbers are included.
• If you acquire a PA image on the Imaging tab, when the procedure is posted, the assigned tooth numbers are included.
• If no teeth are selected when you chart or acquire PA images, “Mouth” is used as the treatment area, so tooth numbers are not included.

Also, if you edit a PA imaging procedure, notice the following:

• If teeth were selected for the procedure, the new Tooth Ranges box displays the tooth numbers.
• If teeth were not selected for the procedure, the new Tooth Ranges box is empty.

You can change the Tooth Ranges as needed:

• You can enter the first and last tooth numbers of a range separated by a dash.
• You can enter an individual tooth number.
• You can enter a combination of ranges and/or individual tooth numbers, separating each with a comma.

To help reduce rejected insurance claims due to an area of oral cavity missing for certain procedures, Dentrix Ascend now provides an option to include the area of oral cavity on electronic claims automatically. Having this option on for a procedure affects all claims that you submit electronically that include the procedure, regardless of the payer; however, the clearinghouse may remove the areas of oral cavity from claims sent to payers that do not allow that information on claims.

Based on ADA recommendations, Dentrix Ascend turns this option on by default for the following procedures: D0364, D0380, D0801, D1206, D1208, D1301, D1510, D1520, D1553, D1556, D1575, D4210, D4211, D4230, D4231, D4240, D4241, D4260, D4261, D4263, D4264, D4286, D4341, D4342, D4921, D5284, D5286, D5867, D5875, D5876, D5931, D5932, D5933, D5936, D5937, D5952, D5953, D5960, D5982, D5983, D5984, D5985, D5986, D5987, D5988, D5991, D5992, D5993, D5995, D5996, D6190, D6920, D6985, D7260, D7261, D7284, D7285, D7286, D7287, D7288, D7292, D7293, D7294, D7295, D7296, D7297, D7298, D7299, D7300, D7310, D7311, D7320, D7321, D7340, D7350, D7410, D7411, D7412, D7413, D7414, D7415, D7440, D7441, D7450, D7451, D7460, D7461, D7465, D7471, D7473, D7485, D7490, D7509, D7510, D7511, D7520, D7521, D7550, D7953, D7955, D7961, D7962, D7963, D7970, D7972, D7997, D8010, D8020, D8030, D8040, D8210, D8220, D8680, D9613, D9938, D9939, D9941, D9942, D9943, D9944, D9945, D9946, D9947, D9948, D9949, D9950, and D9954.

To view or change the area of oral cavity option for a procedure

1. On the Settings menu, select Procedure Codes & Conditions to view the Procedure Codes & Conditions page.

2. Click a procedure to open the Edit Procedure Code dialog box.

3. If the new Show area of oral cavity on eClaims switch is available, you can set it to Yes or No.

Notes:

• This switch is available only for a procedure code whose treatment area is mouth, tooth, tooth range, surface, or root.
• You cannot turn this option off for a procedure code whose treatment area is quadrant, sextant, or arch.
• If you need to bill a procedure without the area of oral cavity, you can use an alias code with this option off (unless the treatment area is quadrant, sextant, or arch).

4. Click Save.

For a posted procedure that is flagged to show to area of oral cavity, the code that will be used for the area of oral cavity on a claim is determined by where the teeth that are associated with the procedure are located in the patient’s mouth:

• The entire mouth (maxillary and mandibular arches) – 00
• Only in the maxillary arch – 01
• Only in the mandibular arch – 02
• Only in the upper-right quadrant – 10
• Only in the upper-left quadrant – 20
• Only in the lower-right quadrant – 30
• Only in the lower-left quadrant – 40

The fees for dental procedures increase at regular intervals, and there are many patients with proposed treatment plans which have been delayed for various reasons, although the original fees remain. Dentrix Ascend now provides a way to quickly update amounts for procedures grouped in a visit so that they reflect current fees. Prior to this update, you had to update outdated fees for procedures in a treatment plan one at a time. To help you save time, this update provides a way for you to quickly update the fees for treatment-planned procedures in a visit all at once.

The following scenario demonstrates how you can use this new functionality.

You treatment plan procedures, assign them to a visit in a treatment plan, and inform the patient that the fees are valid for a certain length of time. In this scenario, the fees from the location’s preferred fee schedule are associated with the procedures (as indicated by the green, circled L icon next to each procedure’s amount).

Note: It is best practice to select an Expiration date for a treatment plan.

Later, you update fees in the location’s preferred fee schedule.

New Update Visit link

When you open the patient’s planned treatment case, notice that the Amount of each affected treatment-planned procedure is orange, and an orange triangle icon appears next to the amount to indicate that the fee does not match what is in the location’s fee schedule. This is existing functionality. Now, notice the orange triangle icon, the text “Update Visit,” and a link displaying the updated visit total that appear next to the visit Total. This is new.

Note: If you click a procedure amount’s orange triangle icon, a pop-up message, stating that the fee does not match the location’s fee schedule, appears. This is existing functionality.

Manually editing a fee (existing functionality)

You can still edit a procedure’s amount manually by doing the following:

1. Click the procedure’s Code link.

2. In the Edit Procedure dialog box, click the Update to: [amount] link, and then click Save.

The procedure’s amount now matches the fee schedule, and the visit’s total has been updated.

Viewing a breakdown of the updated fees (new functionality)

To see what the updated fee will be for each affected treatment-planned procedure in the visit of that case, click the orange triangle icon next to Update Visit.

Updating all fees (new functionality)

To quickly update the fees for all affected treatment-planned procedures in the visit of that case, do the following:

1. Click the link next to Updated Visit.

2. On the confirmation message that appears, click Update Amounts.

All applicable fees are now updated.

Notes:

• Updating the fees for all affected treatment-planned procedures cannot be undone. After updating the fees, if you want to revert back to the old fees, you have to edit each procedure one at a time to change the fee.
• Updating the fees for a visit affects only treatment-planned procedures. Completed procedures are not affected.
• The change in each procedure’s amount is recorded in the Audit Log.
• The existing security rights that determine if a user can edit a procedure amount also apply to updating multiple procedure amounts for a visit. Under “Patient Procedures,” the “Edit patient procedure” right is required, and either the “Edit patient procedure amount” right or the “Edit patient procedure zero amount” right is required.

If your organization has multiple locations, and they share the same NPI and TIN for insurance claims, an insurance carrier may assign a location ID to each location and reject electronic claims without those IDs. To help reduce rejected insurance claims due to a missing location ID, Dentrix Ascend now provides a way for you to specify the correct location ID to use for electronic claims that you submit to a payer.

Important: To find out what location IDs the payer has assigned to your locations, you must contact the payer.

Note: If a claim is rejected, you can find the reason in that claim’s status notes.

To update the location IDs for claims submitted to a payer

1. On the Home menu, select Carriers to view the Insurance Carriers page.

2. Click a carrier to open the Edit Carrier page.

3. Click the new Location Number button to open the Location Number dialog box.

4. For each location, enter the correct ID in the corresponding Number box. The box accepts up to three characters (letters and/or numbers).

Notes:

• If a Number box is not available, your user account has not been granted the “Edit Carrier” security right for that location.
• If you enter only one letter or number in the Number box, Dentrix Ascend will automatically insert a zero (0) before that character you entered.

5. Click Save.