INTEGRATION · PLANNED
PostKnock + Open Dental
Open Dental's open API is the dream for native sync. PostKnock would be the postcard + call-followup layer Open Dental's email recall has never had.
What Open Dental is
Open Dental is the open-source dental practice-management system used by thousands of independent practices that want to escape vendor lock-in. It exposes a documented MySQL schema and an HL7-style API — unusual transparency for healthcare software.
Why postcards on top of Open Dental
Open Dental's recall workflow is tied to the appointment book and email. Email-only recall is leaving 80%+ of lapsed patients unreached. PostKnock adds the physical channel and the timed call queue Open Dental doesn't ship.
How a PostKnock + Open Dental integration would work
Contact sync
Two paths. (1) Direct MySQL read of the patient and recall tables, scoped to inactive patients past your threshold — the cleanest, fastest sync because Open Dental's schema is public. (2) Open Dental Service API for hosted environments. Both nightly. Active recall, scheduled, and recently-seen patients are filtered out before enrollment.
Trigger types
- →Lapsed patient (configurable months) — Auto-enroll into recall playbook
- →Recall type “6-month prophy” overdue — Targeted hygiene-overdue postcard
- →Treatment plan accepted but unscheduled — Treatment-reminder postcard with a 30-day follow-up call
- →Birthday month — Soft-offer birthday card
Data fields mapped
| Open Dental field | PostKnock field |
|---|---|
| PatNum | External ID |
| FName / LName | First / Last |
| Address / City / State / Zip | Mailing address |
| DateLastVisit | last_visit_date |
| RecallType | Segment tag |
| PriProv | provider (for personalization) |
| Birthdate | birthday |
Status
Planned. Build prioritization is driven by customer demand. The more votes a connector gets, the sooner we ship it.
Vote — tell us your use caseFAQ
Can I export from Open Dental manually today?▼
Yes. Open Dental's Reports > Lists module exports inactive patients as CSV. PostKnock auto-maps the columns. Most Open Dental practices on PostKnock currently use this monthly cadence.
Will it sync two-way?▼
Phase 1 is one-way (Open Dental → PostKnock). Phase 2 will post a Commlog entry back into Open Dental noting which postcard wave was sent — it'll show up in the patient's communication log so the front desk can see it.
Cost?▼
No integration fee. Standard per-postcard pricing applies.
Is this HIPAA-compliant?▼
Yes. PostKnock signs a BAA on Pro and above. Postcard copy contains no PHI by default. See our healthcare compliance page.
Will this work for cloud-hosted Open Dental?▼
Yes — cloud installs use the Open Dental Service API path. Self-hosted installs can use either MySQL read or the API.
Use PostKnock today, native sync later
Export your contact list from Open Dental as CSV, upload to PostKnock, and ship a postcard wave this week. When the native integration goes live, your account is already set up.
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