Client name . Gnashers

Sector . Healthcare

Summary comment . Frank Dolan BDS

"Any reasonably bright layman can pick up FileMaker and do amazing things with it. With no previous experience or knowledge, I was able to build Gnashers. And the more I learn about it, the more I realise what it can do."

Gnashers

Dental Practice is All Smiles with FileMaker Dental Management System

With a professional staff of 12, the dental practice of Frank Dolan BDS provides general dental services to more than 7,000 registered patients in the Scottish town of Airdrie. In business for 30 years, it's become an established part of the local community.

Gnashers Dental Management System Mood Board

Keeping track of five dentists, a hygienist, five nurses, thousands of patients and hundreds of appointments each month is a huge task for his receptionist. Add in administrative matters like invoicing, purchasing, record keeping and the challenge is even greater. But doing it all with a paper-based system is nigh on impossible.

When dentist Frank Dolan looked around for a computerised alternative to paper, none of the products on offer seemed to fit the bill. So, way back in 1996, despite having absolutely no IT training or software experience, Frank simply picked up FileMaker version 3.0 and built one himself. Initially a simple patient database, Gnashers has grown into a full-featured dental management system.

Maintains a complete patient database and automatically generates reminders for check-ups, cleanings and further treatment.
Makes it easy to schedule, repeat, reschedule or cancel appointments via a screen interface that looks just like a "real life" appointment book.
Tracks DNAs (Did Not Attend) and flags or blocks persons with a history of missed appointments.
Just a few mouse clicks easily completes an NHS Scotland GP17 general dental treatment claim that looks identical to the paper printed form.
Easily generates professional-looking invoices for private treatment.
Maintains a complete record of patient dental treatment and further work needed.
Scans in and stores photos and dental x-rays.
Maintains an audit trail that tracks any changes to patient records.
Provides one-click charting of individual teeth.
User interface mimics paper-based systems so new users quickly and easily adopt the Gnashers system.
Once basic data is entered, Gnashers is almost entirely mouse-operated, reducing the use of keyboards in clean operating environments.
Future-ready system is fully compatible with touch-screen technology.
Works equally well in a Mac or PC environment.