Why Dental Aging Reports Matter—and How to Keep Yours Clean with Confidence
In a busy dental practice, the aging report is one of the most powerful (and overlooked) tools in your software. It’s not just a spreadsheet of outstanding balances—it’s a financial snapshot of your practice’s health. Left unmanaged, it can quietly grow into a mountain of overdue claims, frustrated patients, and thousands in lost revenue.
At CDT Professionals, we help front office teams using Open Dental take control of their aging reports with clear processes, clean data, and proactive follow-up.
What Is a Dental Aging Report?
A dental aging report shows how much money is owed to your practice—and how long it’s been outstanding. It typically breaks down balances by time periods (0–30 days, 31–60 days, 61–90 days, 91+ days) and by type (insurance vs. patient).
It’s your go-to tool for:
Tracking unpaid claims
Monitoring patient balances
Identifying bottlenecks in collections
The longer a balance sits, the less likely you are to collect it. That’s why consistent monitoring is key.
Red Flags That Signal Trouble
If your aging report is starting to feel unmanageable, here are a few signs to watch for:
Claims sitting in the 90+ day column without notes
Patient balances with no recent follow-up
Growing insurance A/R without clear documentation
Multiple duplicate claims or write-off errors
These red flags aren’t just clerical oversights—they represent real dollars your practice may never collect without intervention.
How to Spot Issues Early in Open Dental
Open Dental makes it easy to generate real-time aging reports, but understanding how to use the data is where many teams get stuck. Here’s what we recommend:
Run your A/R report weekly, filtered by provider and aging category
Use the Claims Not Sent and Outstanding Claims reports to catch anything lingering
Double-check insurance payment tables and write-off settings
Make sure every claim has clear documentation and timely follow-up notes
Getting ahead of problems early is much easier (and more profitable) than cleaning them up later.
Tips for Weekly A/R Audits
A clean aging report starts with consistent attention. Here’s a simple weekly workflow we use with our CDT clients:
Run your insurance and patient aging reports
Prioritize 60–90+ day balances for review
Add notes to any claim or balance you touch—every time
Escalate unresolved issues to the appropriate team member or follow-up with payers directly
Track trends over time so you can identify patterns (e.g., certain carriers, procedures, or codes)
Even 30 minutes a week can make a major difference in collections and workflow clarity.
How CDT Professionals Keeps Your Report Clean and Collections Timely
CDT Professionals is built to support front office teams who are overwhelmed by the growing burden of insurance management. We specialize in Open Dental and bring over 100 years of combined experience to the table.
Here’s how we help:
Daily aging report audits and follow-up
Claims documentation cleanup
Real-time updates in Open Dental so your team stays informed
Direct communication with payers to resolve delays
Custom reporting to show where your collections stand—and how they’re improving
Most importantly, we give your front desk time back so they can focus on what matters most: patient care.
Ready to Take Control of Your Aging Report?
If you’re tired of chasing claims or wondering where your collections stand, CDT Professionals can help you get ahead—and stay there. Reach out today to learn how we support dental teams using Open Dental with proactive, professional insurance management.
