When you need to close the practice for holidays (or other events), instead of just scheduling an event for operatories in the schedule, the best thing to do is to close the practice on that day in the Appointment Book. Closing the day will ensure that the hours will not be counted as available time when scheduling patient appointments, and your weekly and monthly production totals won’t be affected.

How To

Closing the office for a holiday that occurs on the same date each year, such as Christmas or Independence Day, is pretty straightforward.

1. In the Appointment Book, from the Setup menu, select Practice Schedule.
2. Navigate to the date you want to close in the Calendar (such as December 25).
3. From the Office Closed menu, select Yearly Holiday on selected day.
4. Repeat for other holidays (such as the 4th of July) and click Close.

However, for holidays that don’t fall on the same date each year, such as Thanksgiving or Memorial Day, you’ll need to take a different approach. Let’s say that your practice will be taking a half day on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and a full day on Thanksgiving.

1. In the Appointment Book, from the Setup menu, select Practice Schedule.
2. Navigate to the Wednesday before Thanksgiving in the calendar, and double-click the date.
3. Enter a Start Time and End Time for the workday, and click OK.
4. Then navigate to the date on the calendar for Thanksgiving.
5. From the Office Closed menu, select Close Office on selected date, and click Close.

Additional Information

• When closing the office for holidays, take a quick look at those days in the Appointment Book to make sure there aren’t any appointments already scheduled that you’ll need to move.
• Read the Manage Your Complex Office Schedule within Dentrix article in Dentrix Magazine.