Data Conversion FAQ

Yes. ABELDent has provided data conversion for thousands of North American dentists. Our data conversion is one of the reasons why many of our customers report that the transition to ABELDent was faster and easier than they expected.

ABELDent has acquired or developed a large library of software and hardware tools to help us convert data from other dental software packages. Our technical specialists have performed electronic data conversions from all of the following systems:

Yes. The records stored in your current practice management system are extremely valuable, and we know that you don't want to have to recreate them. Electronic data conversion saves you time and frees you from the labor-intensive and repetitive job of data entry.

Are there cases where you do not recommend data conversion?

Some vendors advise against converting your data electronically by telling you that you will be better off starting fresh with "clean" data. We think this is because data conversion is very challenging work and they would rather not do it.

Of the thousands of conversions that we have evaluated, there were only a few cases where we thought the practice would benefit from starting over. In many cases, we can identify and leave out inactive patients or other problematic data.

There are several factors that influence how much data can be converted electronically. The differences from one software to another can lead to data that doesn't map accurately into ABELDent. Some systems are based on ancient, obscure or proprietary technology that is difficult or impossible to extract data from. Some vendors purposely encrypt or otherwise obscure data to make it difficult for their clients to move their data to another system.

For the reasons above, how much data can successfully be converted differs from system to system. Our minimum objective is to convert the data that will help you get started with ABELDent quickly. Although what can be converted varies slightly from system to system we can usually convert the following:

• Patient Demographics (Names, Addresses, Phone Numbers Etc.)
• Patient Appointments

To determine how much of your data we can convert, you can send us a recent backup and we will do a free Data Conversion Evaluation. For your own security, we recommend that you ship your backup by courier. Send it to:

• Data Conversion Department
• ABELSoft Inc.
• 3310 South Service Road
• Burlington, ON L7N 3M6

Note:

We will be happy to sign your PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act) document and return it to you before you send us your data.