How to Update Your Dentrix Fee Schedules Without Breaking Your Workflow

Every year as we move into January, I start getting the same question from dental teams across the country: “Dayna, how do I update my fees in Dentrix without messing up my treatment plans?” If you’ve ever put off fee updates because you were afraid of creating chaos, trust me, you’re not alone.

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In my own practice, we adjusted our fees every 12 to 18 months. What I’ve found over the years is that many practices go far too long between updates. Then suddenly someone realizes they haven’t touched fees in five years, and now they need a 10 or even 15 percent jump just to catch up. Patients feel that. They notice it. And it creates unnecessary friction.

So let me walk you through not just how to update your Dentrix fee schedules, but how to do it smartly, so your patients experience small, manageable changes instead of jarring increases.

Why Small Increments Matter

My philosophy is simple. Increase hygiene fees slowly and consistently, about two to three percent every 12 to 18 months. Patients barely notice a four dollar difference in their prophy. Then increase your restorative fees more aggressively, maybe five to eight percent. Over time, this closes the gap between where your fees are now and where they need to be, without shocking your patients.

I dive deeper into why this matters inside my post on creating accurate insurance estimations, which pairs perfectly with fee updates. You can read that here:
➡️ Using Dentrix to Improve Insurance Estimates 

Where to Update Fees in Dentrix

All fee schedule updates happen in the Office Manager.

1. Go to Maintenance

2. Click Practice Setup or Reference

3. Select Fee Schedules

Here you’ll see every fee structure you’re using: your master fee schedule, any historical versions, and your insurance fee schedules if you use them.

If you keep old fee schedules year after year, that’s perfectly fine. Just make sure your current fee schedule is always linked to your providers and set as your office default.

How to Apply Percentage Increases

If you want to edit fees one code at a time, click View/Edit — but there’s a much faster way.

Use the Auto Change tool:

• Highlight your preventive codes

• Apply a three percent increase

• Round to the nearest dollar

• Save

Then repeat the process for restorative, implant, or specialty codes with whatever percentage increase fits your practice goals.

If you want a universal bump, choose All Codes and apply a percentage increase across the board.

Important: Fee Increases Do Not Update Treatment Plans

This is the part most people miss. Updating the fee schedule does not automatically update the treatment plan fees already sitting in a patient’s chart.

If a patient has open treatment, outdated fees can create misunderstandings or incorrect estimates. So Dentrix gives you two options.

Option 1: Update All Treatment Plans at Once

Within the Fee Schedule window, select Update Treatment Plan Fees.

You can filter by:

• Expiration date

• Procedure date ranges

• Specific procedure codes

Run this during downtime because it can take a while.

Option 2: Update One Patient at a Time

Inside the Treatment Planner, look for the green Update Fees icon. This updates the treatment plan instantly without requiring you to re-enter anything.

If you want a refresher on how the treatment planner works, read this article that many doctors have thanked me for:
➡️ Dentrix Treatment Planner Tips for Smoother Case Conversations 

What About Insurance Fee Schedules?

If an insurance company actually increases your fees — rare, but it happens — you’ll need to manually edit those codes using View/Edit, because percentage increases usually don’t align with insurer updates. Grab a teammate, one reads the list, one enters the numbers, and it goes quickly.

If you use the Allowed Amount Method, remember this: updating your fee schedule does not update the allowed amount table. You must manually recopy the new fees into that table.

You’re Not Alone In This

Fee updates are one of those necessary but often delayed tasks. If you need help cleaning up your fee schedules, treatment plan fees, or insurance structure, I’d love to walk through it with you. You can always grab a spot on my calendar and we’ll tackle it together.

➡️Book a Call Here!

You deserve a new year with clean data, accurate estimates, and a confident financial system.