Curve Dental (Curve Hero) vs Open Dental

PickMyPMS Editorial · Last reviewed Oct 14, 2026

Quick verdict

Curve Dental fits a general practice that wants a browser-based system with native imaging, texting and online scheduling in the subscription, and that is willing to get a price by quote.

Open Dental fits a practice that wants published fees, a month-to-month contract after year one and an open database it controls. It also suits an office that is comfortable running Windows on its own server. Its texting and online scheduling cost extra, and its record names no native imaging.

A browser product and a server product

Curve Dental is built for the web and lists the web as its only platform. There is no office server to buy or patch. Native imaging is part of the platform, and Curve lists capture-device integrations including Dexis, Schick, Carestream, Planmeca, Vatech, Apteryx, Sidexis, Romexis and DTX Studio. Curve lists general practice as its only specialty.

Open Dental is Windows software with a published fee schedule and an open MySQL database. Most offices run it on their own server. Open Dental Cloud, a hosted option, is in limited release. It lists general, pediatric and multi-specialty practices.

Open Dental’s record has no imaging entry, so we cannot say whether it includes native imaging. We found no statement either way, which is not the same as none. Ask Open Dental which imaging program your sensors will bridge to.

What each costs

Curve publishes no prices. SelectHub lists $99 a month per user, with no stated source or method, and notes that other pricing aggregators show conflicting figures. Treat it as a third-party estimate and ask Curve for a written quote.

Open Dental publishes its fees:

• Support runs $199 a month per location for the first 12 months, then $149 a month per location. It covers up to three dentists.
• Each additional dentist is $20 a month.
• The eServices bundle is $165 a month per location. Texting access is $5 a month for an assigned number or $20 a month for a landline, plus $0.04 per message in the US.
• Open Dental Cloud is $430 a month per location for one provider. Additional providers are $150 a month, and there is a one-time $400 migration fee.

The first-year $199 is an intro rate. The base figure to plan on is $149. Do not add the add-ons into that number unless you plan to use them.

A fair monthly comparison needs the same scope on each side. Curve includes texting and self-scheduling in the subscription with no add-on fee, per Curve’s patient engagement page. Open Dental lists both as add-ons. Put your own provider and location count into the cost calculator once you have the Curve quote.

Contracts and cancelling

Curve’s term runs 12 months from the date Curve receives your first subscription payment. It renews automatically for one-year terms at Curve’s then-current fees. Variable usage fees can change on 30 days’ written notice.

Cancelling before the end of a term means paying the remaining balance. Written notice is due at least 90 days before the term ends. Curve updated these terms on June 1, 2026.

Open Dental has a 12-month initial term, then month-to-month. It also gives a 90-day money-back guarantee on support fees. The record states no notice period and no auto-renewal clause, so ask for the agreement itself before signing.

After year one, Open Dental is the lighter commitment. Missing Curve’s 90-day window means another full year.

Getting your data out

Curve lets a practice download its data at any time from inside the application, in a format compatible with Microsoft Excel. The data policy page does not say whether the download covers images and documents, or what access looks like after cancellation. We could not confirm either point.

Open Dental stores data in an open MySQL database the practice controls, per Open Dental’s own documentation. Because the practice hosts the database, it does not depend on the vendor to produce a file. A hosted Open Dental Cloud practice has a different arrangement, and the record does not describe it.

Switching in

Open Dental publishes its conversion pricing: $1,450 per database, $900 for X-rays, $850 for documents and $400 for each extra clinic. That makes it possible to cost a move before you call.

Curve publishes no conversion price or timeline in the record we hold. Ask for the cost and the list of record types that convert, including images and documents, in writing.

Before you sign with either one, get answers to these:

• Whether patient history, ledger, insurance plans, images and documents all convert.
• Whether images and documents carry a separate fee.
• How long your current contract runs, so you do not pay two vendors for months.

Features and integrations

Each feature is as the vendor records it. Where a record is silent we write unclear, which does not mean none.

Curve records texting and online scheduling as included. It records eligibility, claims, online forms and e-prescribing as unclear.

Open Dental records claims, eligibility, online forms, perio charting, recall automation and reporting as included. It lists a mobile app as included. Texting, online scheduling and e-prescribing are add-ons. Multi-location reporting is unclear.

On integrations, the two sides publish different things. NexHealth lists both Curve Dental and Open Dental, including Open Dental Cloud, among the systems it supports. NexHealth does not publish the connection method for either.

Open Dental names DentalXChange / ClaimConnect among its recommended clearinghouses, and the practice signs up with the clearinghouse first. Flex Dental states it is built for Open Dental and writes eligibility results back in real time. Open Dental does not publish a partner directory, so that one is Flex’s claim only. The Curve record carries no entry for DentalXChange or Flex Dental.

What reviewers say

On Capterra, Open Dental holds 4.6 from 89 reviews and Curve holds 4.4 from 285 reviews. Both are third-party figures and neither is a vendor claim.

Open Dental’s subscores are 4.6 for ease of use, 4.6 for customer service, 4.5 for features and 4.6 for value. Curve’s are 4.3, 4.5, 4.1 and 4.3 in the same order.

Curve reviewers say new staff learn it quickly and that 24/7 support responds fast. They complain about confusing billing and adjustment workflows, weak X-ray viewing, occasional crashes and slow loading, and mobile features that need a separate GRO subscription.

Open Dental reviewers cite a learning curve, a dated interface and paying for live support. A third-party business directory estimated about 20,000 practices for Open Dental in 2021. That figure is unverified. Curve claims 100,000+ active users and 6,000+ practice locations in the US and Canada.

Who should pick which

Pick Curve Dental if you:

• Want a browser-based system with no server and native imaging.
• Want texting and self-scheduling inside the subscription.
• Want to download your data yourself at any time.

Pick Open Dental if you:

• Want fees you can read before a sales call.
• Want an open database you control and a month-to-month term after year one.
• Are comfortable running your own Windows server, or paying for Open Dental Cloud.

If neither fits, the Find my PMS quiz scores both products and others against your specialty, size and budget.