specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Open Dental
providerId: opendental
created: '2026-07-03'
modified: '2026-07-03'
reconciled: false
tags:
- Dental
- Practice Management
- Healthcare
- FinOps
- Cost Management
- FOCUS
description: >-
  FinOps view of Open Dental API spend. Open Dental's REST API is billed per
  location: a Developer Key plus a per-customer Customer Key must be enabled
  before charges apply, and billing stops when a key is disabled. The dominant
  cost driver is therefore the number of active locations / enabled customer
  keys rather than per-request metering. Open Dental does not publish public
  per-location dollar amounts and negotiates pricing with high-volume
  developers. A free test database exists for pre-production development. The
  Local API / API Service option runs at the practice workstation and is not
  metered or throttled through Open Dental's cloud, shifting cost to on-premises
  infrastructure rather than a per-call cloud charge.
notes: >-
  Per-location rates are not reconciled here; verify with Open Dental. Cost
  optimization centers on enabling keys only for active locations and disabling
  unused keys promptly (billing halts on disable), plus choosing the Local API
  where volume would otherwise strain cloud throttling limits.
sources:
- https://www.opendental.com/site/apispecification.html
- https://www.opendental.com/site/apisetup.html
- https://www.opendental.com/site/apifees.html
- https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
publisherName: Open Dental Software
serviceCategory: Healthcare and Practice Management
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Subscription
  billingFrequency: Monthly
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
  - Usage
  - Purchase
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Open Dental API
  ServiceCategory: Healthcare and Practice Management
  ProviderName: Open Dental Software
  PublisherName: Open Dental Software
  InvoiceIssuerName: Open Dental Software
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Usage
  PricingCategory: Subscription
meters:
- name: active_locations
  description: Number of locations with an enabled API Customer Key; the primary per-location billing driver.
  unit: locations
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - customer
  - developer_key
- name: enabled_customer_keys
  description: Count of enabled per-customer Customer Keys; billing starts on enable and stops on disable.
  unit: keys
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - customer
- name: api_requests
  description: Volume of cloud REST API requests; not directly billed but bounded by permission-tier throttling.
  unit: requests
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - developer_key
  - customer
- name: local_api_usage
  description: Requests handled by the un-throttled Local API / API Service at the practice workstation (on-premises cost, no cloud charge).
  unit: requests
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - location
principles:
- name: Visibility
  description: Track which locations have enabled Customer Keys and which Developer Keys they map to; that count is what you are billed on.
- name: Allocation
  description: Map enabled keys to specific customers/locations so per-location API cost is attributed to the right practice or client.
- name: Optimization
  description: Disable unused Customer Keys promptly (billing halts on disable), request only the permission tier you need, and use the un-throttled Local API for high-volume single-location workloads.
- name: Accountability
  description: Review active-location and enabled-key counts monthly against contracted per-location pricing; negotiate volume pricing with Open Dental when scaling across many practices.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com