Open Dental Forum

Dear all,

When I started my practice, having a lot of time in my hands, using the instructions on the open dental website, I compiled the software and I have been using it since! That was version 4.4 if I remember correctly.

At home I was playing with open dental and reached version 11.x

Since I did not want to go into the process of compiling again, I thought that I could upgrade at least to the version 11.x

So, thank god in a testbed, I have copied the open dental directory, updated mysql to 5.5. using the trialdownload 11-0-41 I had at home and then the database started updating. Then I got an error "You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds with your MySQL server version to the right syntax to use near 'signal MODIFY FromUser varchar(255) default ''' at line 1" and "Conversion unsuccessful. Your database in now corrupted and you cannot use it. Please contact us."

If I stay with version 4.4 using the motto "If it ain't broken don't fix it" will I ever reach a point that an upgrade will be inevitable or I can keep using it?

Any help will be appreciated

Nicos Christodoulides
DDS, MSc

I searched through the code and couldn't find a match for that text. With a version that old, we would probably have to help you. Not sure what the problem is. I'm surprised that you are still able to get by with it. Seems like the biggest problem would be submitting claims in the newer formats. There is some risk of being down for a little while if your computers die on you, I supposed. The risk isn't huge. In theory, it should just keep on working. In reality, it takes effort to keep computers running. If you put in the effort, that might be enough.

Thank you Jordan for the reply.

Since the practice is outside of the US, there is no issue with insurance claims as you can imagine.

If we ask for your help can you let me know of the cost, etc?

Thanks again

Ah, that makes more sense. Our business model is centered on a recurring monthly fee. Being outside the US, that might not make as much sense for you. You could get on support for long enough to convert and stabilize. I honestly don't know what the minimum number of months is.

You can find more about our support fees on the following manual page: https://www.opendental.com/site/fees.html.

Thanks for the info!