Dentrix Membership Plans: How to Build and Track Them in Your Dental Practice

I monitor a lot of Facebook chat rooms, and I get tagged often: “Dayna, can you help? ” or “Dayna, do you know the answer to this? ” One theme that keeps popping up over the past few weeks is membership plans. Even at a recent Dentrix user meeting in Seattle I attended, there were many questions about how to implement and manage membership plans.

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So I thought I would write this post to talk about my recommendations, why I recommend them this way, and share a free tip sheet (link in the show notes) you can download. All you’ll need to do is enter your name, email address, practice name, and location.

Membership plans are becoming more popular across the industry. Some practices work with membership management companies—you know, those firms that handle marketing, messaging, renewals, and payments. Others go the DIY route: building their own plan in-house or using a hybrid model. Either way, if you use Dentrix, you need to set it up correctly in your software so your membership plan works, your financials are accurate, and your systems remain clean. That’s what I’m going to help you with.

Start With Your Practice’s Unique Needs

Your practice is unique. The way you manage a membership plan will be different from your neighbor down the street. The real question is how much work do you want to put into it, and what kind of data or tracking do you want out of your plan?

To make it simple, I break it down into three levels: baseline, mid-level, and optimized.

Level 1: Baseline Recommendation

In the most basic setup, maybe your membership plan company handles everything and you just touch it lightly in Dentrix. At minimum, you need a membership plan adjustment code. Here’s how it looks: you post the hygiene procedures as usual, then apply an adjustment for the same amount because those services are included in the membership plan.

For example, you post $177 for the exam, hygiene, and bitewings, then you adjust off $177. Clean and simple.

Level 2: Mid-level Tracking

If your plan includes a discount on restorative work (say 25%), then you’ll need a fee schedule that reflects that discount. In Dentrix, you duplicate your fee schedule and reduce those restorative codes by 25%, then attach the discounted fee schedule to the patient’s demographic.

Do not create an insurance plan for your membership plan. That inflates your insured count and messes with claim generation. Dentrix doesn’t know that it’s really not an insurance plan, so it will try to generate claims—and that’s a data nightmare waiting to happen. Avoiding mistakes like this isn’t just about cleaner reports—it’s also about protecting your documentation and compliance. Here’s how Dentrix software can help protect your doctor’s license. 

Level 3: Fully Optimized

If you want full tracking with reports, build deeper. Create procedure codes for your membership plan (for example, “Adult Membership Plan $500”) and post it to the ledger. Create a billing type for membership patients so you can filter reports, send statements, track renewals, and tie in continuing care.

This setup is ideal if you’re doing membership management in-house and want to see your ROI in Dentrix. You can filter reports and billing statements and even analyze your plan revenue directly in your software. If you’re not sure which numbers to track or how to measure your performance, check out Understanding Your Dentrix KPI’s  for a quick breakdown of what really matters.

Why This Matters

If your hygienists or doctors are seeing flat reimbursements, rising supply costs, and increased wages, this matters more than ever. Hygiene teams must deliver value. And membership plans that are correctly managed in Dentrix help you track that value without losing your data integrity.

It’s not just about cleaning teeth—it’s about producing outcomes, tracking data, and ensuring profitability while staying patient-centric. If you set up your membership plan poorly, you’ll struggle with reporting, accounting, and measuring success.

How to Get Started

1. Decide what level you’re comfortable with: baseline, mid-level, or optimized.

2. Set up a membership plan adjustment code in Dentrix (baseline).

3. If you include restorative discounts, build a fee schedule and attach it by patient demographic (mid-level).

4. If you want full tracking and reporting, create procedure codes and billing types and link to continuing care (optimized).

5. Avoid creating an insurance plan for members—it will skew your numbers.

6. Download the free tip sheet for step-by-step setup instructions.

   

If you want help building or optimizing your setup in Dentrix, book a discovery call with me. I have a suite of training resources, one-on-one coaching, and a community of dental teams going through the same growth journey.