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Set up online booking

A checklist for getting your online booking page live, from first request to the button on your website. Plan about 30 minutes of your time, plus a short back-and-forth with Ordo.

You need: a role with Manage team and locations (to edit Clinic settings), and Open Dental connected for the location under Clinic settings → PMS Integrations.

1. Ask Ordo to turn it on

Email help@perfect.ventures with:

  • Which locations should have a booking page.
  • Your visit types. For each: the name patients see, a one-line description, the length, and whether it is for new patients, existing patients, or everyone. For example New patient exam — 60 min — new patients, Cleaning — 60 min — existing patients, Emergency visit — 30 min — everyone.
  • Which providers patients can book with, and how their names should appear (for example Dr. Priya Gupta — General Dentist). By default every provider who is not hidden in Open Dental is offered.
  • Whether patients may reschedule and/or cancel online, and how close to the visit they must stop (24 hours by default).
  • Optional: your logo, brand colour, a clinic email for replies, how far ahead patients can book (30 days by default), and how much notice you need (2 hours by default).

Ordo turns on the Appointments module and adds your visit types. You can confirm under Clinic settings → Appointments: the Appointments module card shows On.

Open Dental schedules drive the times

Patients only see times where your provider schedules in Open Dental have openings. If a provider has no schedule set up in Open Dental for next week, they show no times online. Check provider schedules before going live.

2. Create the page

  1. Open Clinic settings → Appointments.
  2. In Online booking page, pick the Location (if you have more than one).
  3. Type a Booking URL, for example bright-smile. Wait for Available.
  4. Check the Page name and Time zone.
  5. Click Create booking page.

The badge changes to Live. Click Open page to see it as a patient would.

In Insurance on your booking page:

  1. Click Load the standard list.
  2. Switch off the companies you do not accept. Patients will see Not accepted next to them before they book.
  3. Star the three to five companies most of your patients have, so they show first.
  4. Add any local plans with Add an insurance company.

4. Choose your patient messages

In Patient messages, turn on what you want patients to receive. A good starting set:

  • Appointment confirmation — email and text.
  • Appointment reminder, 24 hours before — text.
  • Forms reminder — email, if you have online forms (save the Forms link first).

Check the wording with Edit. Details: Patient messages.

5. Test it

  1. In Testing mode, save a test email and mobile, and turn on Send patient messages to the test contacts.
  2. Open your booking page and book as a new patient called Test Patient.
  3. Check:
    • the visit is in Open Dental, with Booked online via Ordo in the note;
    • it shows on the Ordo Appointments page with a globe icon;
    • Recent messages shows the confirmation as Sent, with a Test badge, and it arrived on your test phone or email.
  4. If your clinic allows online changes, try Manage appointment on the booking page with the test patient's name, birthday, and phone, and reschedule.
  5. In Open Dental, cancel the test visit and remove the test patient.
  6. Turn testing mode off.

Test bookings are real

Testing mode only redirects messages. The test patient and visit are real in Open Dental until you remove them.

  • Website: in Website booking button, set the button text and style, click Copy snippet, and paste it into your site (or send it to your web designer).
  • Everywhere else: Copy link for Google Business Profile, Facebook, email signatures, and your phone greeting.

After you go live

  • Online bookings show on Appointments with a globe icon. Filter Booked via → Booked online to see them all.
  • Read the appointment note on each online booking. Verify insurance in Open Dental before the visit — Ordo puts what the patient typed in the note but does not create the plan.
  • Look out for notes saying matched an existing record… please review; a “new” patient was actually already in your system.
  • Check Recent messages now and then for Failed or Skipped messages.
  • To pause online booking, switch off Accept online bookings. The link then shows Online booking isn't available here.