Changes to AI notes
We are moving everyone from the original AI notes panel to the new appointment notes experience, with full appointment recording built into the clinical note. Your patient and clinical data stays available. You will not be able to generate new summaries on the old AI notes panel once it is turned off for your practice, and any summaries you already created there stay available for 30 days after that change.
Please note: Complete the Academy course before your practice is switched: Clinical notes. You can also use the clinical notes help guide.
When is this happening?
For UK, APAC and Canadian practices this change lands through November 2026:
9 November 2026. Pre-launch email and in-product guidance start going out.
From mid November 2026. Practices begin moving onto the new appointment notes experience in stages.
By the end of November 2026. The old AI notes experience is deprecated. Aim is general availability of the new experience by around 23 to 30 November 2026.
Your practice will see in-app messaging when your turn is coming. If you work at an Enterprise, these timings might be slightly different.
What about Ireland and Northern Ireland?
Ireland and Northern Ireland are coming soon. We are close to completing Class 1 EU MDR registration for clinical AI notes, which is needed before we can offer the new experience in those regions.
When Ireland and Northern Ireland practices are enabled, they will get the new appointment notes experience only. They will not use the older AI notes panel first.
Please note: We will share more detail on timing for Ireland and Northern Ireland once Class 1 EU MDR registration is complete.
Why is this changing?
The original AI notes tool was designed for dictation and summarisation after the appointment, then copied the result into the note. We know many of you want to save more time by recording the full appointment and to be more integrated into Dentally.
We are replacing it with appointment-level notes in the clinical sidebar, with recording, dictation and AI summaries built into the note. The goal is less copy and paste, less switching screens, and more time with the patient.
We paused a wider notes change earlier in the year because removing treatment item notes was too disruptive. Treatment item notes are back. This rollout is the next step: one clearer notes experience, with AI where you write the note.
What is changing?
Old AI notes
Dictation and AI summarisation after the appointment
Lived in a separate AI notes panel
Completing a note used a 24 hour lock on that flow
New experience
Full appointment recording, dictation and AI summary
Lives inside the appointment note in the clinical sidebar
Draft until you select Complete and Mark as reviewed
When your practice moves over:
The old AI notes entry point on the treatment plan item goes away and moves top right of the service appointment.
You write appointment notes from the clinical sidebar.
Where AI is enabled for your practice, you can Record during the appointment, use dictation, and Generate a draft from your template.
Enterprise customers get appointment-level notes but AI recording for Enterprise is agreed with your account manager, not switched on automatically.
For how appointment notes work once you are on the new experience, including the clinical sidebar and treatment item notes, see Why have my clinical notes changed?
What happens to my data?
You keep access to your patient and clinical data. Nothing in the clinical record is wiped as part of this change.
What does change is how you create AI summaries:
During and after cutover on the old panel. You will not be able to generate new summaries with the old AI notes experience once it is turned off for your practice.
Previous summaries from the old experience. You can still open and use summaries you already created there for 30 days after the change for your practice.
After those 30 days. Plan to rely on the new appointment notes experience for any new AI drafts. Completed clinical notes that you already reviewed and saved remain part of the patient record as normal.
Audio is not stored for AI notes. Transcripts stay in the audit trail where they already do today. Patient data is not used to train third-party AI models.
Will I still be able to use AI after the change?
Yes, once your practice is on the new experience with AI controls enabled. You get appointment recording, dictation and Generate in the note, free for a limited time during the initial rollout. Pricing details will be shared later (expected early 2027).
What should I do before we switch?
Complete the Academy clinical notes course.
Check your microphone setup if you plan to use appointment recording.
Review your note templates so Generate has a clear structure to follow.
If you still use the old AI notes panel, copy anything you need from recent summaries into the clinical note before your 30-day access window ends.
Where do I find notes that still need reviewing?
On the new experience, AI output is a draft until you Complete and Mark as reviewed. Use your task list to find notes waiting for review. That replaces the old 24 hour lock habit for appointment notes.
Still have questions?
Start a support chat in Dentally, or speak to your account manager if you are part of an Enterprise and want to discuss AI recording.