Dental practice management software in Australia, compared

On This Page

1. The systems, and who owns them
2. What it costs
3. Claiming: HICAPS, Tyro, CDBS and DVA
4. Online booking and your website
5. Contracts and getting your data out
6. Records, privacy and where your data sits
7. Which should you look at?
8. Switching checklist
9. My view
10. Questions I get asked

Search for dental practice management software and every result on page one is a vendor, a vendor's "neutral" comparison guide, or a review directory. None of them puts the things that actually decide the choice side by side: what each system costs (only one publishes a price), whether it runs on a server in your back room or in the cloud, how you claim CDBS and DVA, what online booking costs, and how you get your data out when you leave. This guide does, from each vendor's own pages and terms, HICAPS's and Tyro Health's partner lists, Services Australia and state health records law, read on 12 October 2026. I build dental practice websites and have no relationship with any of these vendors.

The systems, and who owns them

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A few things trip people up. Praktika isn't Centaur's; it's built and run by a separate Melbourne company. Oasis belongs to Henry Schein One, and its page reads as a product kept for existing customers, so ask about its future if you're on it. Dentrix Ascend and Curve Dental, which show up in American reviews, aren't sold here. Ultimo, Zavy360 and Principle Dental are smaller Australian options also on HICAPS's list.

What it costs

Only Praktika publishes a full price: $260 a month for one location with up to two chairs, $25 a month for each extra chair, and a $500 set-up fee, all before GST, with unlimited users. Practices with two or three locations pay less per location. Core Practice publishes its extra-seat price and SMS rates but not its base plans. Everyone else is "contact us". Text message rates are published by Centaur (22 cents before GST), Praktika (17 to 25 cents before GST, depending on volume) and Core Practice (19 cents on pay as you go). For a busy practice, SMS is a real line item.

For every other system, ask for an Australian quote that states the basis (per chair, per provider or per location), what's included, set-up and conversion fees, and how much and how often the price can rise.

Claiming: HICAPS, Tyro, CDBS and DVA

HICAPS's own partner list shows terminal integration for private health claims, EFTPOS and Medicare for every main dental system, so it won't separate them. Tyro Health lists Dental4Windows, Core Practice and Dentally as dental partners, and Praktika says it works with Tyro terminals too.

The Child Dental Benefits Schedule is claimed through Medicare Online or Medicare Easyclaim, and Services Australia says bulk bill claims can go through "your practice software". Dentally says it submits CDBS invoices electronically, and Core Practice does Medicare (including CDBS) and DVA claims through Tyro Health Online. Core Practice is the only system I could confirm for electronic DVA claiming; ask every other vendor how they do it. Whatever you choose, CDBS needs an eligibility and balance check before treatment and informed financial consent forms, and you must keep CDBS records for four years for audit.

State public dental voucher schemes, such as NSW's fee-for-service scheme and Victoria's emergency, general and denture schemes, are paper vouchers you send back to the health service, not claims from your software. What helps is being able to set each scheme up as a payer with its own fees, and to keep scheme invoices out of your reminder letters.

Online booking and your website

This is where the costs differ most:

• Praktika: its own online booking is free for subscribers; you pay only for the verification text message.
• Core Practice: included in both plans, embedded on your site with your branding, with optional deposits through Stripe.
• Dentally: online booking and digital forms come with its Essentials and Pro tiers, not Starter.
• Centaur: eAppointments is a separate subscription with a six-month minimum, and its terms make putting it on your website your responsibility.
• EXACT: an online booking widget for your website, with deposits.

Booking directories charge per new patient. HotDoc's pages show $59 per new patient for practices on Dental4Windows and Core Practice, while Centaur's own patient discovery page lists $65.50 plus GST, so check which applies to you. None of the dental systems, HotDoc or HealthEngine is a Reserve with Google partner, so Google's "Book" button on your profile is a link to your booking page. The cheapest new patient is one who books on your own website through your own system. More on that in HotDoc, HealthEngine or your own website.

Contracts and getting your data out

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Henry Schein One's terms also say your signed sales agreement overrides them, so read your own order form. Before you sign anything, get three answers in writing: the minimum term, what you can do if the price rises, and the format and fee for your data when you leave.

Records, privacy and where your data sits

The Dental Board retired its own dental records guidelines; its Code of conduct now covers records, and how long you keep them comes from state law. In NSW, Victoria and the ACT, private health providers must keep records for seven years from the last service, or until the patient turns 25 if they were a child. Elsewhere there's no state statute, but most practices work to the same rule. That matters when you switch systems: the old records have to stay readable for years, which a cloud account deleted 30 or 90 days after you leave won't do on its own.

A dental practice is covered by the Privacy Act whatever its size, and using a cloud system doesn't move your security obligations to the vendor. Centaur says hosted data is kept in Australian data centres, Praktika says all its servers are in Australia and it doesn't use third-party cloud providers, and Core Practice says its servers are in multiple Australian data centres. Dentally announced it was moving Australian accounts to Sydney servers, but its Australian security page still mentioned EU servers when I checked, so get it in writing. CareStack's Australian privacy policy lists servers in several countries; ask where clinical data sits. Two vendors, Centaur and Core Practice, say they hold ISO 27001 certification.

One more surprise: none of the dental systems appears on the Australian Digital Health Agency's conformance registers for My Health Record, healthcare identifiers, e-prescribing or secure messaging. Don't choose on those features yet.

Which should you look at?

Switching checklist

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My view

Decide server or cloud, then shortlist on contract and exit terms, claiming routes and online booking cost, because that's where these systems really differ. Praktika's published price is a useful benchmark when the others quote. And plan the website side of any switch: the booking button on your site and Google profile is where new patients come in, and it changes the day you move.

Questions I get asked

What is the most commonly used dental software in Australia?

Dental4Windows has long been the default, though there's no independent current survey of market share. Henry Schein One's EXACT and Dentally, Praktika and Core Practice are the other main names.

How much does dental practice software cost in Australia?

Only Praktika publishes a price: $260 a month for one location with up to two chairs, plus $25 per extra chair and a $500 set-up, before GST. The others quote on request.

Which dental software is cloud-based?

Dental4Web, Praktika, Core Practice, Dentally and CareStack. Dental4Windows and EXACT run on a server in the practice.

Does dental software connect to My Health Record?

Not yet. None of the dental systems is on the Australian Digital Health Agency's conformance registers for My Health Record or e-prescribing.

How long do dental records have to be kept?

In NSW, Victoria and the ACT, seven years from the last visit, or until 25 for patients treated as children. CDBS records must also be kept four years for audit.