Denticon vs Dentrix Ascend

PickMyPMS Editorial · Last reviewed Sep 28, 2026

Quick verdict

Denticon fits a practice that wants a published starting price to plan around and does not need Mac compatibility. Dentrix Ascend fits a practice that needs to run on Macs or iPads, or wants a data export process without a fixed per-extract charge for imaging. Both are built to scale from a solo office to a multi-location group or DSO, so the choice between them turns more on platform and contract detail than on which one is “for” bigger practices.

Get written quotes from both before deciding.

Published price or none at all

Denticon’s owner, Planet DDS, lists a starting price of $795 a month directly on its site, with packages and add-ons that vary by practice size. Henry Schein One publishes no price for Dentrix Ascend at all; every figure attached to Ascend online comes from a third party.

That gap cuts both ways. A published number lets you budget before you call sales, but Denticon’s own $795 figure does not match a $750-a-month listing on Capterra, and neither Denticon nor Ascend’s page tells you what a specific practice will pay once add-ons are included.

Platform is a second real difference. Denticon runs in a browser on Windows only; Planet DDS states plainly that it is not compatible with macOS. Dentrix Ascend runs in a browser on Windows or macOS, and on an iPad.

What each costs

Denticon’s starting price is $795 a month, published on Planet DDS’s own site, with the note that packages, features and add-ons vary by practice size. A separate Capterra listing shows $750 a month with no stated reason for the difference from the vendor’s own number.

Add-on charges apply on top of the starting price. Text segments above the included allowance cost $0.0087 per 160-character segment; the base Patient Communication package includes 6,000 segments per office and two-way texting includes 3,000. A $20-a-month compliance fee applies per account for text messaging.

Henry Schein One publishes no price for Dentrix Ascend. One site lists $4,788 a year for a single user, with the same page showing $9,588 a year for 10 users and $19,188 a year for 100 users. A second site estimates $500 to $1,200 a month. Neither source states where its numbers came from, so treat them as a conversation starter rather than a quote.

Denticon’s $795 published figure and Ascend’s $500-to-$1,200 estimated range overlap, so neither product is confirmed cheaper without a quote specific to your practice. Run real numbers from both through our cost calculator once you have them.

Contracts and cancelling

Denticon’s initial term ends on the first anniversary of the billing start date, then renews for one-year terms; Planet DDS can adjust prices at each renewal with written notice. Not renewing needs at least 30 days’ notice before the term ends. Cancelling for convenience is a separate, harder path: it needs 60 days’ notice, and the fees for the rest of the current term become due immediately rather than being spread out.

Dentrix Ascend renews for 12-month terms at whatever fees are in effect at renewal, which Henry Schein One can change with notice by email or an in-product announcement. Written notice of non-renewal is due at least 60 days before the term ends, and leaving early can mean paying the rest of the term with no refund of fees already paid.

Denticon’s shorter 30-day non-renewal window looks easier on paper, but its convenience-cancellation terms both ask for more notice and bill the remaining balance immediately. Read both contracts’ cancellation clauses directly rather than comparing the headline notice periods alone.

Getting your data out

Denticon’s terms state that the practice owns its data but must extract a copy itself before the agreement ends. It can also ask Planet DDS, up to 10 business days after termination, to post the data to a secure site available for 30 days. Exporting imaging data through XVWeb costs $995 per extract, and imaging data converted during the first term cannot be exported before that term ends. That $995 fee is charged only when a practice leaves; it is not part of the monthly price.

Dentrix Ascend’s terms let a practice request read-only access and a copy of its data in SQL database format when the agreement ends. Data not requested within 90 days can be deleted, and extending read-only access past that point costs extra. Ascend’s terms describe no separate per-extract charge comparable to Denticon’s XVWeb fee.

If imaging volume is heavy, the $995 XVWeb charge is worth pricing into a decision to leave Denticon before you sign, not after.

Switching between the two

Denticon’s conversion process is at least described in Planet DDS’s own materials: data conversion happens per location from supported legacy systems, with a trial conversion and audits before go-live, and imaging conversions are included per location and database. The fees themselves are set in the order and not published.

Henry Schein One publishes no comparable conversion process or price for data moving into Ascend from another system. Capterra reviewers of Ascend describe slow insurance setup and data conversion, which is worth raising directly with a sales rep if you are converting into Ascend.

Before you sign with either vendor, get written answers to:

• The full conversion price, since neither company publishes one.
• Whether imaging conversion is included or billed separately, and what happens if you need to export that imaging data again later.
• How long your current contract runs, so you are not paying two vendors during the switch.

Imaging and features

Denticon’s imaging runs through Apteryx XVWeb, also a Planet DDS product; Planet DDS’s own materials do not state whether that counts as native to Denticon itself. Reviewers and Planet DDS both describe API integrations with more than 50 third-party products, plus built-in patient communication, online booking, analytics and claims attachments. DentalOS, launched July 17, 2026, links Denticon, Cloud 9 and Apteryx imaging on one data layer at no added cost to existing Planet DDS customers.

Dentrix Ascend includes native imaging for 2D, 3D CBCT and CAD/CAM as part of the product. Its Essentials package bundles payments, claims processing, patient booking, and text and email messaging; Pro adds Eligibility Pro checks and multi-location management; Accelerate adds enterprise reporting.

On review sites, Denticon holds 4.5 out of 5 from 118 Capterra reviews. Reviewers like logging in from anywhere and running several locations from one system, and they complain about slow or unresolved support tickets, too many clicks and bugs shipped in updates. Dentrix Ascend holds 4.1 from 235 reviews, with reviewers praising multi-location management and the interface, and complaining about confusing reporting and long waits for support.

Who should pick which

Pick Denticon if you:

• Want a published starting price to plan a budget around before you call sales.
• Run Windows workstations exclusively and do not need Mac support.
• Want a single vendor covering practice management, imaging and analytics under DentalOS.

Pick Dentrix Ascend if you:

• Need to run on Macs or iPads, since Denticon does not support macOS.
• Want a data export process without a fixed per-extract fee for imaging.
• Are weighing Henry Schein One’s tiered Essentials, Pro and Accelerate packages against Denticon’s own plans.

If neither description fits cleanly, the Find my PMS quiz scores both products, and other options, against your specialty, size and budget.