Your practice management system (PMS) holds the schedule, the chart and the claims. Your imaging software holds the X-rays and CBCT scans. A “bridge” is the small link between them: you click a button on the patient in the PMS, and the imaging program opens on the same patient. This page maps which imaging programs the main PMS vendors document, and links every cell to the vendor’s own document. Sources were checked on 12 October 2026. Status: Not tested yet — we have read the vendor documentation; we have not run these bridges on a clinic network.
The short answer: almost every PMS can launch the big imaging suites, but the depth differs. Most bridges only pass the patient’s ID and name and open the imaging program. A few go further and show image thumbnails inside the chart or return a confirmation to billing. Before you buy a sensor or switch PMS, check that the exact pair (and version) is on both vendors’ lists.
Bridge, integration or built-in imaging
- Bridge (launch link). The PMS writes the patient’s details to a file or command line and starts the imaging program. Images stay in the imaging database. This is what most Open Dental program links do.
- Two-way integration. The imaging program also sends something back: thumbnails in the patient chart, or a “the X-ray was taken” signal. Dentsply Sirona’s SLIDA interface for Sidexis 4 and the DEXIS Integrator are examples.
- Built-in imaging. The PMS captures X-rays itself, so no bridge is needed. Eaglesoft’s Advanced Imaging and Dentrix Imaging are this kind; Patterson notes that third-party bridges with Eaglesoft are provided and supported by the imaging manufacturer.
The matrix: PMS × imaging software
Each “Yes” links to the document that says so. A dash means we found no current official document for that pair; it does not prove the link is impossible — ask both vendors.
Dentrix is not in the table because Henry Schein One’s current public pages describe its own Dentrix Imaging rather than a list of third-party bridges. Dentrix Magazine has described a DEXIS Integrator for Dentrix that shows image thumbnails inside the Dentrix Patient Chart (2016 article), and Dentsply Sirona’s SLIDA partner list (a 2017 PDF) includes a Dentrix entry. Both are dated: confirm your Dentrix version with Henry Schein One and with the imaging vendor before you rely on them.
How the Open Dental bridges work
Open Dental documents its bridges best, so it is a good model of what a bridge actually passes. All of them are set up in Setup → Program Links: enable the link, check the “Path of file to open”, choose PatNum or ChartNum as the patient ID in Additional Properties, and add a toolbar button.
- DEXIS: Open Dental writes the patient number, name, birthdate and sex to a text file and starts DEXIS with that file as an argument. The patient number is the only required field. Patient numbers must match in both systems; renumbering is a separate paid job, not part of the bridge.
- Sidexis: the path must point to Sidexis’s
sifiledb.ini. Open Dental writes update, new-patient and autoselect sections to the Sidexis communication file. Sidexis appears to match patients by name and birthdate, so a valid birthdate is required, and mixed Windows region settings can create duplicate patients. Sidexis 4 needs the path pointed at its own executable. - Carestream/Trophy: the “Trophy (enhanced)” link passes the patient’s image folder to the Trophy executable. The storage path must exactly match the database location set in Trophy, and to switch patients you close the imaging program and reopen it from Open Dental.
- VixWin: the recommended “VixWin (numbered)” link stores images in folders named by patient number. VixWin does not recognise UNC paths, so every workstation needs the same mapped drive letter, and VixWin must be in bridge mode.
- XVWeb and DTX Studio: XVWeb is web-based and may ask for a login each time the bridge opens. DTX Studio needs two links enabled: DTX Studio and DTX Studio Acquire.
Sidexis 4 and SLIDA
Dentsply Sirona’s SLIDA (“Sidexis Link to Dental Applications”) is a two-way interface. According to Dentsply Sirona, the PMS creates and updates the patient in Sidexis 4, can send an X-ray request that prepares the device for exposure, receives a confirmation for billing, and can receive the acquired 2D images. Dentsply Sirona says more than 200 practice management systems connect this way. The free Sidexis 4 Viewer on patient discs cannot link to a PMS. In Eaglesoft, Patterson says the Sidexis XG bridge does not work with Eaglesoft 18 and later, because the interface was designed for Sidexis 4.
Eaglesoft, Dentally and Curve: what to know
- Eaglesoft: the Kodak/Carestream link needs the Digital X-ray Link module in the Eaglesoft licence; the Sidexis link is included with 3D Sirona devices bought from Patterson and must be bought otherwise. DEXIS needs the Dexis Premium Integrator installed by DEXIS support on each computer. Patterson Imaging and Eaglesoft cannot run on the same computer.
- Dentally: the Imaging Bridge is a Chrome extension plus a local program. Converted practices should use the Legacy ID so the imaging software does not create duplicate patients, and an overlap screen warns when a bridge ID may clash with an existing patient.
- Curve Dental: Curve lists its “supported & certified” bridges on its imaging page and notes that RadioVision is the only bridge supported on Mac.
How to choose and check a bridge
- Write down the exact versions: PMS, imaging software and Windows. Bridges are version-specific (Sidexis XG vs 4, EzDent-i 2.x vs 3.x, Eaglesoft before and after 23.10).
- Find the pair on both vendors’ lists, and note who supports the bridge. Often it is the imaging vendor, not the PMS.
- Decide which patient ID the systems will share (PatNum, chart number or legacy ID) before the first exposure. Mismatched IDs are the main cause of images under the wrong patient.
- Use the same mapped drive or server path on every workstation, as the vendor documents.
- Test with a dummy patient: open from the PMS, take or import one image, and check it lands on the right record.
- Plan for leaving: most imaging systems do not convert images to another vendor’s format, so ask how to export to DICOM. Free viewers on the DICOM viewers and PACS hub can open those exports.
Limitations
- Not tested yet: this page summarises vendor documentation; we have not set up these bridges.
- Vendor lists change with every release. Some documents we found are years old and are marked as such above.
- A bridge does not move or convert images; it only opens the right patient.
- Some links need a paid module or an extra licence; we do not list prices.
FAQ
What is a dental imaging bridge?
A link that lets your practice management software open the imaging program on the same patient, usually by passing the patient ID, name and birthdate. The images stay in the imaging software unless the vendors build a two-way integration.
How do I set up an imaging bridge in Open Dental?
Go to Setup → Program Links, double-click your imaging program, tick Enabled, check the path of the program file, choose PatNum or ChartNum in Additional Properties and add a toolbar button. If your program is not listed, Open Dental describes a custom bridge.
Does Dentrix have its own imaging software?
Yes. Henry Schein One sells Dentrix Imaging, which captures X-rays inside Dentrix. Third-party imaging programs such as DEXIS have also offered integrations with Dentrix; confirm current support for your version with both vendors.
Why does the bridge open the wrong patient?
Usually the patient IDs do not match between the two systems, for example after a PMS conversion. Open Dental’s DEXIS link requires identical patient numbers, and Dentally recommends the Legacy ID for converted practices.
Can I use a bridge on a Mac?
Mostly no: the big imaging suites are Windows programs. Curve says RadioVision is its only Mac bridge, and Dentally lists Romexis v4 and SoPro as working on PC and Mac.
Editorial team. Sources checked 12 October 2026.
Last updated: 12 October 2026 · SoftProDents editorial team. Licence, version and platform details are checked against each developer's official documentation; none of the tools listed here should be treated as a certified medical device unless its vendor says so.
