Web Version 

Open Dental is built to run in Windows.  We have also developed a web version, "Open Dental Web", which can supplement our main product.  It is not yet available for customer use.  When available, it will be provided as a hosted service.  The database (a copy) will run on our servers, and end users will connect to it using a web browser. We will handle all upgrades, backups, virus protection, etc.

View the Demo (The demo is currently down because Microsoft just forcefully shut down usage of the older version of Silverlight 2.  We will be rebuilding it soon with the current version of Silverlight 2.)

The appointment module is the most complete.  We put just a few appointments on the calendar date of May 15th for demo purposes. It does not yet allow moving appointments, and some of the modules are empty.

It was built using Microsoft Silverlight, which is similar to Flash, but written in C#. This allows us have a very responsive and rich user interface running entirely in a browser plugin.

Completed Features
Rock solid log on / log off.
Main window with same 7 module buttons.
Patient Select window.
Appointment module viewer
Family module viewer.
Account module viewer.

Planned Features
We can't immediately make the web version as powerful as the desktop version due simply to the size of Open Dental. Also the focus of the web version is somewhat different. Our immediate priority is to build view-only versions of most of the modules. Security and multi-Clinic support are also a top priority.

Technical Rationale
A Silverlight application is like a sandbox. We can do whatever we want in the sandbox, but the computer it's running on remains safe from malicious code. A Silverlight application is only able to communicate with the webserver that it originates from and does not have access to the user's file system. In order to bridge to imaging programs we will have to install some sort of additional bridge on an end user's computer. But the pure Silverlight application would still be able to view images.

It runs off the exact same database as the standard version of Open Dental. In fact, you could have some workstations running the standard version of Open Dental, and others running the Silverlight version. Over time, we expect the Silverlight version to become our flagship product for a number of reasons.

1. Richer interface.
2. Runs the same on Mac, Windows, and Linux.
3. Accessible remotely, including on public computers.
4. User does not require admin privileges.
5. Install it once, and it's instantly available from unlimited workstations.
6. Scales up better, including to dozens or even hundreds of clinics on one database.
7. Upgrade it once on the server, and the upgrade is instantly available everywhere.

But it may take five to ten years for the Silverlight version to fully replace the desktop version. Every single screen will need to be rewritten. And at the same time, we need to continue adding other features. So there will be a long transitional phase, and the Silverlight version will be an optional add-on for quite a while.