Best AI Scribe for Dentists in Australia (2026 Comparison)

What Dentists Need from an AI Scribe

Examination Note Narratives

The examination note that sits alongside the dental chart needs to capture extra-oral and intra-oral findings, occlusal observations, soft-tissue assessment, and risk profile. The AI scribe should produce a narrative that complements the structured chart in your practice management system, not replicate it.

Periodontal Charting Commentary

Periodontal assessments produce numerical pocket depths and bleeding scores in the practice management system, but the clinical narrative — "generalised inflammation noted, plaque control fair, bleeding score 23%" — is what defends the diagnosis and treatment plan. That narrative is what AI scribes should generate.

Treatment Planning Rationale

Treatment plan discussions need to be documented for informed consent and audit purposes: the clinical findings, the options offered, the risks discussed, the patient's preference, and the agreed plan. The note structure differs from a SOAP note.

CDBS Reports

Practitioners providing services under the Child Dental Benefits Schedule need report formats that satisfy CDBS audit requirements. This is highly specialised documentation.

Specialist Correspondence

Dentistry runs on referral letters — endodontic, oral surgery, prosthodontic, orthodontic. The AI scribe should produce structured referral correspondence from the consultation note.

What an AI Scribe Should NOT Do

It should not try to replace the dental chart, the radiograph viewer, or the clinical management system. Those tools exist and are mature. The AI scribe should produce narrative documentation that complements them.

The Contenders

Grounded Scribe

Dentistry-relevant features:

• Profession-specific templates for examination notes, periodontal narratives, treatment planning records, CDBS reports, and specialist referral correspondence
• Dictation mode for high-volume per-patient notes between appointments
• Australian data hosting with healthcare-grade security
• Template customisation — build templates that match your specific reporting requirements
• Designed to complement, not replace, your existing dental practice management software

Pricing: Free tier (10 sessions/month), Plus ($19/month, 30 sessions), Core ($39/month, 60 sessions), Pro ($69/month, 120 sessions), Max ($99/month, unlimited sessions).

Best for: Dentists who want narrative documentation that sits alongside their existing dental PMS without trying to replace charting or imaging.

Heidi Health

Key features:

• AI clinical notes with customisable templates
• Australian-based platform with local data hosting
• Growing template library

Pricing: Free tier available. Paid plans from approximately $30/month.

Considerations: Strong general-purpose scribe. Dental-specific templates (CDBS, periodontal narratives) may need to be built manually.

Lyrebird Health

Key features:

• Ambient AI documentation
• Template customisation available
• Australian-developed platform

Pricing: Plans from approximately $29/month.

Considerations: Ambient recording is well-regarded. Dental-specific template support may be limited; expect to reshape outputs for charting narratives and CDBS.

Freed AI

Key features:

• AI medical scribe with customisable templates
• Quick turnaround on note generation

Pricing: From approximately $99 USD/month.

Considerations: US market focus. Australian CDBS, Medicare dental items, and AHPRA dental documentation expectations are unlikely to be supported natively.

Head-to-Head Comparison

Our Recommendation

For Australian dentists, the most important question is whether the AI scribe complements your existing dental practice management software or fights with it. The answer should be "complements."

Grounded Scribe is built to produce narrative documentation alongside your charting tool, not replace it, and ships dental-specific templates including CDBS reporting.

Heidi Health and Lyrebird Health are general-purpose options that work but require template-building for dental-specific outputs.

Freed AI is US-market focused and not a natural fit for Australian dental practice.

The best test: Dictate a 30-minute new-patient examination and ask the AI for the narrative note, the periodontal commentary, and a referral letter to an endodontist. If you get all three from one dictation in audit-ready form, you have a good fit.

Start your free trial — no credit card required.

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*This comparison is based on publicly available information as of April 2026. Pricing, features, and availability may have changed since publication. We encourage you to verify current details directly with each provider.*

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