Open Dental Training in 2026: What Your Options Are
Open Dental Training in 2026: What Your Options Are
If your team is using Open Dental but nobody was ever really trained on it... you're not alone.
This is one of the most common things we hear from dental offices across the country. The software got installed, someone watched a few YouTube videos, and now the team is clicking through it every day hoping for the best. Reports don't make sense. Insurance workflows feel like a guessing game. And every time someone quits, the knowledge walks out the door with them.
Open Dental is genuinely one of the most powerful practice management systems available. But power without training is just frustration. So if you're ready to actually learn this software in 2026, here's a breakdown of what your options look like.
Open Dental's Built-In Resources
Open Dental has a robust wiki at opendental.com/site/documentation.html that covers virtually every feature in the software. It's detailed, it's free, and it's updated regularly. For someone who learns well by reading and experimenting, this is a solid starting point.
The downside? It tells you what a feature does. It doesn't tell you how to use it in the context of a real dental practice, or what the best practice setup actually looks like. You can spend hours reading documentation and still walk away unsure of what to actually change in your database.
YouTube and Free Online Content
There's a growing library of Open Dental content on YouTube, and some of it is genuinely useful for quick how-tos. If you need to figure out how to set up a specific feature fast, a search will usually surface something helpful.
The challenge with free content is that it's scattered, inconsistent in quality, and nobody is accounting for your specific setup, your team's workflows, or the bad data that may already exist in your database. Free training treats every practice the same. Yours isn't.
Remote Training with a Consultant
Working with an Open Dental consultant virtually is a step up from self-service learning. A good consultant can assess your specific setup, identify what's broken or missing, and train your team in a way that's actually relevant to how your practice operates.
At SKF Practice Solutions, this is our bread and butter. We've worked inside 100+ Open Dental databases across the country and we've seen just about every configuration, every workflow gap, and every bad data pattern that exists. Our Comprehensive Software Exam is a 400-point audit of your entire Open Dental setup that delivers a customized treatment plan for your system — not a generic checklist. And our Optimization Intensive takes it further, doing a full system reset and rebuild alongside your team over six months.
Remote training works especially well for practices that need focused, role-specific coaching or are dealing with specific problems like AR cleanup, duplicate insurance plans, or fee schedule issues.
In-Person Team Training
Sometimes a screen just isn't enough. Especially for offices with larger teams, new hires, or practices that have been running on bad habits for years, in-person training creates a level of buy-in and accountability that remote sessions can't fully replicate. When the whole team is in the same room, everyone gets the same information at the same time, questions get answered in real time, and the energy shifts.
In-person training has historically been hard to access for Open Dental users because there simply haven't been many dedicated events or workshops built specifically around this software. Until now.
The 2026 Open Dental Users Workshop
On October 3rd, 2026, SKF Practice Solutions is hosting the first-ever Open Dental Users Workshop at the Brookfield Convention Center in Brookfield, Wisconsin. This is a full-day, in-person training event built exclusively for dental teams who use Open Dental.
This isn't a generic dental conference with a breakout session about software. Every speaker, every session, and every conversation in that room is focused on one thing: helping you and your team get more out of Open Dental.
Here's what's included with your $499 ticket:
3 keynote presentations from Open Dental experts and dental industry leaders
3 breakout sessions covering workflows, revenue cycle, reporting, and more
A printed workbook to take back to your office
4.75 CE credits
Access to a personally vetted vendor marketplace featuring tools that actually integrate with Open Dental
Breakfast and lunch
Networking with 100+ other Open Dental users from practices just like yours
One of the most underrated parts of an event like this is the room itself. When you're surrounded by other dental teams who use the same software, who share the same frustrations, and who have found solutions to problems you're still stuck on — that exchange of knowledge is something no course or tutorial can replicate.
Seats are limited and registration closes September 26, 2026 or when we sell out — whichever comes first.
So Which Option Is Right for You?
Here's the honest answer: it depends on where you are.
If you're brand new to Open Dental and just need to get your bearings, start with the documentation and free resources. If you have specific problems to solve — messy data, broken workflows, billing issues — a Comprehensive Software Exam and remote training is the move. If you want to level up your entire team, get CE credits, and connect with the Open Dental community in person, the 2026 Open Dental Users Workshop is exactly what you've been waiting for.
The software is only as good as the team running it. Whatever path you choose this year, choose to actually invest in the training. Your future self — and your team — will thank you.
Ready to claim your seat at the 2026 Open Dental Users Workshop? Register here.
