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UK practice software and ad tracking: Dentally, SOE, R4 and Pearl compared

On this page
  1. Why your software decides what you can measure
  2. The matrix
  3. Reading it
  4. Sources

Dental practice software marketing integrations decide how much of your advertising you can trace to real patients. As of 1 October 2026, none of the six UK systems I checked documents a direct connection to Google Ads or Meta. They differ a great deal in what they give you to build one: an API, webhooks, a tag on the booking page, or only a report export.

The matrix below records what each vendor documents publicly, checked on that date. It's the practical starting point for tracking ads to booked treatment, and it isn't a recommendation of any system for clinical use. The full method, stage by stage, is in measuring marketing against booked revenue.

Why your software decides what you can measure

Attribution means joining two halves of a patient's journey. Google Ads and Meta see the click. Your practice management system (PMS), the software that runs your diary, records and billing, sees the booking, the attendance and the payment. Something has to carry a link across the gap.

Five things in your practice system decide how easy that is:

FeatureWhat it isWhy it matters for attribution
Online booking with tag supportThe booking pages can run Google Analytics or Google Tag ManagerA booking can be counted as a website conversion
Click-ID captureThe booking keeps the ad platform's click identifierThe booking can be matched to the exact ad click
API or webhooksA documented way for other software to read records (API) or be notified of changes (webhooks)Attended and paid results can be read automatically
Report exportAppointments, patients or invoices can be exported as a spreadsheetA slower, manual route when there is no API
Source fieldA "how did you hear about us?" field on the patientA practice-side cross-check, though never campaign-level

GA4 is Google Analytics 4, Google's website analytics. Google Tag Manager (GTM) is Google's tool for managing tracking code. A click identifier is the code an ad platform adds to the link when someone clicks an ad; for Google it's the GCLID.

The matrix

"Documented" means I found it in the vendor's own public pages or help centre. "Not verified" means I could not find it documented; it may exist, and you should ask the vendor. Nothing here is from memory.

Capability, as documented on 1 Oct 2026DentallySoftware of Excellence (EXACT)R4+ (Carestream Dental)Pearl Dental SoftwareAeronaXenon
OwnerHenry Schein One1Henry Schein One1Carestream Dental2Baker Heath Associates3Aerona Software2Not verified
Online bookingYes: Dentally Portal, via a link or pop-up4Yes: website widget5Yes: Patient Bridge Premium6Yes: paid add-on, with deposits3Yes: patient portal7Not verified
GA4 or GTM on bookingNo today; Google Analytics planned after a Portal upgrade8Yes: your GTM container, booking-step data layer9Yes: GA4, with a server-side purchase event when the appointment is in the practice system10Not verifiedNot verifiedNot verified
Click-ID capture on bookingNo: "not currently supported" (Apr 2026)8Not verifiedNot verified (GA4 client ID is used instead)10Not verifiedNot verifiedNot verified
Report exportSome reports only11Yes: patient lists (CSV), invoiced treatments12Not verifiedNot verifiedNot verifiedNot verified
APIYes: v1 documented; newer version for verified partners13Not verifiedNot verified for R4+; Sensei Cloud has a partner API14Not verifiedExists; documentation not public15Not verified
WebhooksYes: appointments, patients, payments16Not verifiedNot verifiedNot verifiedNot verifiedNot verified
Referral or source fieldYes: acquisition sources17Yes: referral reports18Not verifiedNot verifiedNot verifiedNot verified
Direct Google Ads or Meta connectionNot documentedNot documentedNot documentedNot documentedNot documentedNot verified

About Xenon. I could not find a vendor website or public documentation for a UK dental system called Xenon, and it doesn't appear on the NHS Business Services Authority's list of certified practice management systems updated 9 July 2026.2 That list only covers systems certified to send NHS claims, so a private-only system could be missing from it. I have left every cell as not verified rather than guess. If you run Xenon, ask your supplier the questions in the next section.

Reading it

Three groups emerge.

Systems with an API and webhooks (Dentally). The richest route to attended and paid results, because records can be read automatically and changes can trigger an update. The weak point is the booking page: Dentally Portal doesn't keep the click identifier today, so ad traffic needs to be captured on your own website first. The detail, including Dentally staff's own statements, is in tracking Dentally bookings to your ads.

Systems with strong booking-page tracking (R4+ and SOE). Carestream documents the most complete booking tracking of the six: Patient Bridge reports the booking journey to GA4 as a series of shopping-style events, and sends a final purchase event from its server once the appointment is in the practice system, linked to the visitor's browser session. A GA4 event like that can be turned into a Google Ads conversion once GA4 and Google Ads are linked.20 It measures bookings, not attendance or payment, and a booking with no deposit is sent with a value of £0.00.10 SOE lets you run your own GTM container on its booking flow, with a booking reference at completion. The next step for EXACT users is set out in joining Software of Excellence to your ad accounts.

Systems where the public documentation stops at online booking (Pearl Dental Software, Aerona, Xenon). Online booking exists for Pearl Dental Software and Aerona, and Aerona has an API whose documentation isn't public; one CRM vendor's help centre says access is enabled through Aerona support.15 Beyond that, I could not verify anything relevant to ad tracking. That doesn't mean it can't be done. It means you need answers from the vendor before planning a build.

Questions to put to your vendor

  1. Can the online booking pages run our Google Tag Manager container or GA4 tag?
  2. Does the booking keep URL parameters such as gclid or utm_source and store them on the appointment?
  3. Is there an API or webhook we can use, read-only, to see appointment status and invoices?
  4. Which reports can be exported, in what format, and can exports be scheduled?
  5. Where is the patient-facing booking page served from: our domain or yours?

Whatever the system, two limits are shared. Phone bookings carry no click identifier, and anything read from the patient record is health data that needs a lawful basis and recorded consent before a result is sent to an ad platform. Meta's own terms restrict health information further still.

If you run Dentally or EXACT, the next step is the build for your system: Dentally and Google Ads or Software of Excellence. For any other system, email Fayez@imfayez.com with its name; the first look is free.

Sources

  1. Software of Excellence, "Software of Excellence acquires Dentally", 8 July 2020 (SOE described as a wholly owned subsidiary of Henry Schein One). https://blog.softwareofexcellence.com/en-gb/software-of-excellence-acquires-dentally, accessed 1 October 2026. ↩ ↩2

  2. NHS Business Services Authority, "Certified dental practice management software systems", updated 9 July 2026. https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/2026-07/DPMS%20Contact%20List%209%20July%202026.pdf, accessed 1 October 2026. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. Pearl Dental Software, "Pricing" (company: Baker Heath Associates Limited, Blaby, Leicester). https://pearldentalsoftware.com/pricing/, accessed 1 October 2026. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. Dentally Help, "How to optimise your online booking". https://help.dentally.com/en/articles/8238342-how-to-optimise-your-online-booking, accessed 1 October 2026. ↩

  5. Software of Excellence, "Online booking". https://softwareofexcellence.com/en-gb/solutions/patient-experience/online-booking, accessed 1 October 2026. ↩

  6. Carestream Dental, R4 online help, "Patient Bridge". https://help.carestreamdental.com/rh/web/server/R4/projects_responsive/R4%20Online%20Help/Patient_Bridge.htm, accessed 1 October 2026. ↩

  7. Aerona, "Patient portal". https://aerona.com/aerona-products/aerona-patient-portal/, accessed 1 October 2026. ↩

  8. Dentally Community, "google ads campaign tracking", replies from the Dentally Portal product manager on 28 April and 26 September 2026. https://community.dentally.com/practice-management-58/google-ads-campaign-tracking-446, accessed 1 October 2026. ↩ ↩2

  9. SOE Help Centre, "Online Booking and Google Tag Manager", https://help.softwareofexcellence.com/hc/en-gb/articles/4405145445268-Online-Booking-and-Google-Tag-Manager, and "Understanding Google Tag Manager Data Layer Events", https://help.softwareofexcellence.com/hc/en-gb/articles/41022426709268-Understanding-Google-Tag-Manager-Data-Layer-Events. Both accessed 1 October 2026. ↩

  10. Carestream Dental, "Google Analytics Integration with Patient Bridge", handout EHO25.001, 2025. https://gosensei.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/PatientBridge_GoogleAnalytics_HO.pdf, accessed 1 October 2026. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  11. Dentally Help, "How to export and print reports". https://help.dentally.com/en/articles/9317639-how-to-export-and-print-reports, accessed 1 October 2026. ↩

  12. SOE Help Centre, "Exporting Patient Lists", https://help.softwareofexcellence.com/hc/en-gb/articles/41096680641428-Exporting-Patient-Lists, and "Invoiced Treatments Report", https://help.softwareofexcellence.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360061850512. Both accessed 1 October 2026. ↩

  13. Dentally API documentation (v1), https://developer.dentally.co/, and Dentally Help, "Dentally partner API FAQs", https://help.dentally.com/en/articles/15956843-dentally-partner-api-faq-s. Both accessed 1 October 2026. ↩

  14. Sensei, "Developer program" (covers Sensei Cloud). https://gosensei.co.uk/developer-program/, accessed 1 October 2026. ↩

  15. Aerona API page (password protected), https://aerona.com/api/, and DenGro Help, "PMS integration: Aerona", https://help.dengro.com/en/articles/8232908-pms-integration-aerona. Both accessed 1 October 2026. ↩ ↩2

  16. Dentally Help, "Using webhooks in Dentally". https://help.dentally.com/en/articles/15031727-using-webhooks-in-dentally, accessed 1 October 2026. ↩

  17. Dentally Help, "How to add acquisition sources in Dentally". https://help.dentally.com/en/articles/7338627-how-to-add-acquisition-sources-in-dentally, accessed 1 October 2026. ↩

  18. SOE Help Centre, "EXACT reports". https://help.softwareofexcellence.com/hc/en-gb/articles/12696879804564-EXACT-reports, accessed 1 October 2026. ↩

  19. Dentistry.co.uk, "Software of Excellence announces partnership with Pearl", 9 June 2024. https://dentistry.co.uk/2024/06/09/software-of-excellence-announces-partnership-with-pearl/, accessed 1 October 2026. ↩

  20. Google Ads Help, "Create Google Ads conversions based on Google Analytics key events". https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/10632359, accessed 1 October 2026. ↩