FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Which devices are supported by SmilesConnect?

Currently, SmilesConnect app is available on iPhone, iPad and iTouch operating on IOS 8.2 and higher.

How long is the free-trial?

SmilesConnect app is available for a 30-day free trial. During this period the app is full-featured and free to use for doctors, staff and patients.

What happens when the free-trial is over?

After the 30-day free trial is over, there is a monthly service fee for each practice that you setup in the app and the number of users per practice. You can access your office subscription through “My Account” on SmilesConnect.net website. We strongly recommend that you renew your office subscription before the expiration of the trial period so your patients and staff do not face interruption in their service.

Do my patients have to pay after the free trial?

No. SmilesConnect app is always free to your patients and staff. There is a monthly service fee for each practice. The fee schedule is available for you to see when you login to “My Account”.

Is SmilesConnect HIPAA Compliant?

Yes, SmilesConnect offers end-to-end encryption of all your messages and conversations with your staff and patients and meets HIPAA guidelines. As the owner or chief doctor of a practice you set up the encryption passphrase so you have control over that aspect of the process.

Can I set up my practice information and office hours in SmilesConnect?

SmilesConnect enables your practice to have a mobile app presence. Today’s consumers look at their mobile devices at least 150 times a day. Having app presence for your practice makes it very convenient for you and them to stay connected.

Yes, it is very easy for you to set up one or more practices within the app. You can provide all relevant information about your practice like office hours, address, office phone number, practice photo etc very easily so your patients can easily access this information from within the app.

Can I set up links to my website and patient portal?

Yes, the app allows you to add links to your practice’s website and patient portal if you like. It is very easy for your patients to open up your practice website and patient portal within the app. This makes it very convenient for them to access the information from these links within the SmilesConnect.

Can I have multiple doctors per practice?

Yes, SmilesConnect allows you to have multiple doctors per practice. One doctor signs-up as “Chief Doctor” and sets up the practice. Other doctors with-in the practice sign up as staff and identify their role during sign-up as a “Doctor” or “Dentist” or like.

Can I have multiple practices?

Yes. SmilesConnect allows you to set up multiple practices. It is very convenient to use SmilesConnect for multiple offices since all your conversations are categorized per office. It is extremely easy to switch between offices by just tapping an arrow.

Further, doctors, staff and patients of one office do not have access to other offices unless you have explicitly allowed that.

How do my staff or patients sign-up for my practice on SmilesConnect?

When you generate a practice in the app, you are given two separate registration codes. One code is for you to provide to your staff and another for your patients. You can conveniently email these codes directly from the app. Your staff and patients download SmilesConnect and sign-up using the code you provide. Now they are part of your practice either as staff or as patient.

Who approves patients for my practice and can unknown patients sign-up to my practice?

No, unknown patients will not have access to your practice on the app. You approve your patients and staff members in your practice.  Only patients that you provide the registration code to your practice can sign-up to your practice. Even if some one provides the registration code to unknown users, they cannot do much with the app since you can reject their request to join your practice.

Can I remove any patient or staff from my practice in the app?

Yes, you can block and/or remove any patient or staff from your practice in the app for any reason, for example when they leave your practice. This gives you full control over who is registered with your practice and who is allowed to communicate with you using the app.

Can I send prescriptions using the app?

Yes. SmilesConnect app allows you to send prescriptions to your patients. SmilesConnect is end to end encrypted wherein you, as the owner of your office, select the encryption passphrase. SmilesConnect staff cannot see the content of your messages. Even the images you share with your patients are encrypted. Hence, you can use SmilesConnect to send prescriptions to your patients without worrying about unintended disclosures to others.

Can my staff send bill pay notifications?

Yes, you can send bill pay messages to your patients easily from within the app. You no longer have to subscribe to a monthly messaging service for this. Your patients automatically get a push notification whenever you send a message to them.

Can my staff send push notifications?

Yes, your patients receive a push notification whenever you send them a message so the patient can respond to you instantly.

Can patients request appointments?

Yes, it is very easy for patients to connect to your staff from the app and request an appointment at a mutually convenient time.

Can my staff send appointment reminders?

Your office staff can send appointment reminder messages to your patients easily from within the app. The patients receive a notification for it and hence are very likely to confirm their appointments.

In case of cancelation it is easy for your staff to send messages to prospective patients to fill those slots at short notice since you don’t have to rely on getting the patient on a live phone call. The patient receives a notification and can respond right away.

Why is SmilesConnect not Free like WhatsApp or iMessage?

Apps like WhatsApp or iMessage or others are not made with HIPAA compliance in mind. There is a good chance that the companies behind such apps may monitor the communication and use it to learn user behavior for targeted advertising at some point in the future.

SmilesConnect on the other hand is end to end encrypted and you, as the owner of your office, select the encryption passphrase so even SmilesConnect staff cannot see the content of your messages. Even the images you share with your patients are encrypted. You can use SmilesConnect to send prescriptions to your patients as well without worrying about unintended disclosures to others.

Further in all these other apps you are required to share your and your staff’s mobile numbers to all your patients. This is a serious privacy risk to you. SmilesConnect does not disclose your mobile numbers to the patients. Thus your privacy is maintained. Your patients can reach you through secure chatting without using your phone number and hence no one can call  you at odd hours.

SmilesConnect is also a great way to keep all your professional communications in one place which is separate from other personal messaging apps.

If privacy and security are not of any concern to you for communication with staff or patients, you can use our Dentichat app which is totally free. You can use Dentichat to chat not only with your staff and patients, but you can also communicate with other dental professionals on the app. Dentichat is a great way for you to network with your peers. However, Dentichat is an open chatting platform and hence is not HIPAA compliant.

Is there a discount for the service fee for longer duration subscription?

Yes. We offer discount when you sign-up for longer duration. The fee schedule along with the discounts is available for you to see when you login to “My Account”.