Using and managing your Dentally inbox
Your inbox is located on your Dentally toolbar. Here you can access the practice inbox where all incoming patient email and SMS correspondence is displayed.
Incoming correspondence is split between correspondence that is assigned and unassigned. You can also choose between viewing email or SMS correspondence using the tabs at the top of the Inbox.
The three icons at the top left of your Inbox screen allow you to mark correspondence as read or archive it as needed.
Select All - select all messages.
Unread - marks selected messages as unread.
Archive - archives selected messages.
You know you have unread new messages, when there is a blue dot on the tab.
💡Please note, for multi-site users, the blue dot will show if there are newly assigned incoming messages in any of your sites' inboxes, not just the site you are viewing.
If you have the inbox open and a new email or SMS comes into the Inbox, a blue dot will NOT appear until you click on a tab or into the Inbox.
Matching unassigned correspondence to a patient
If a message comes from a source that Dentally recognises, such as a patient’s email address or mobile number, it will also be displayed in the patient’s Correspondence tab in their records.
If the message does not come from a source that Dentally recognises, these are found in the tab Unassigned SMS or Unassigned Email.
💡Please note, the unassigned SMS tab will only display for users who do not have site restrictions applied and have access to all sites for the practice.
How to match and attach an unassigned correspondence to a patient.
After navigating to your Inbos and to the 'Unassigned SMS' or 'Unassigned email' tab, Click to open the correspondence item. Then click on the ‘Assign to Patient’ option when viewing the message.
Search for the patient’s name in the 'Search Patient' field at the top of the message
Click the patient's name when it appears, and the correspondence will be assigned to the patient, which can then be viewed directly from the correspondence tab on their patient record.
Archive messages
When you archive messages in the Inbox, they are removed from the view to keep things tidy. If they have been matched to a patient, they will still be visible in the individual patient's 'Correspondence' tab.
💡 Top tip: Once an email has been archived, it cannot be unarchived.
Undelivered correspondence
If correspondence is returned as undeliverable, the relevant email or SMS preferences in the patient's details tab are updated to NO.
This means the patient's contact details will need to be checked and updated at the patient's next visit.
Multi-site correspondence
If you have multiple sites, you can filter your correspondence by site using the filter, as long as you have the correct permissions to do so.
Click on the current site to see the drop-down of all your practices then select the site you want to view from the list. You will now be able to see that site's correspondence.
Unassigned correspondence will be seen at all sites as Dentally has no way of knowing which site or patient the correspondence belongs to. Therefore these can be viewed from any location.
Filter Correspondence
We can use the filter at the top right of the Inbox to see either just sent or archived correspondence items. The filter defaults to 'Inbox'.
To see sent items or archived items, click on the drop-down filter and select the relevant search term.
💡 Top tip, it is good housekeeping practice to change the filter back to 'Inbox' when you are finished to avoid confusion or human error down the line.
Want to learn more about Correspondance in Dentally? We have a helpful article here about scanning and uploading documents into a patient correspondence tab in Dentally.