ADA Chairside Instructor vs Dental CE Manager
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ADA Chairside Instructor
This app provides dental professionals with a comprehensive visual guide for patient education. It features over 250 full-color images and 25 animations covering a wide range of dental topics, from prevention to complex restorations. Users can also draw on images and email them to patients.
- 250+ full-color dental images
- 25 animations
- Draw on images and email
- iCloud photo access
- Upload from Camera Roll
- English and Spanish text
- WiFi printing
- Favorites list
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Chairside Instructor - the best-selling dental case guide from the American Dental Association – is now available as an app for iPhone and iPad! With over 250 full-color dental images and 25 animations, the ADA Chairside Instructor App is your all-in-one resource for visual patient education. Content covers a wide range of prevention and treatment topics, including hygiene; anatomy; x-rays; periodontal disease; decay; crown, bridge, dentures, root canal, and other restorations; orthodontics; cosmetic treatment; TMJ; pathologies; and now cracked tooth and bruxism. Ideal for patient education or as a teaching tool for dental assistants. Eight categories include Oral Anatomy, Prevention and Diagnosis, Gum Disease, Caries and Restorations, Tooth Replacement, Orthodontics, Cosmetic Options, and Other Oral Conditions. Also includes effects of sugar on oral health; steps of filling a cavity; tooth erosion; gum recession; peri-implantitis; and tobacco use. - Plus, these award-winning features: - 51 new/revised full-color images - Show 25 silent animations on your device. - Draw on pictures and email them to patients. - Access pictures across multiple devices from iCloud. - Upload photos from your own Camera Roll - Includes both English and Spanish text - WiFi printing - Add frequently viewed topics to your Favorites list for quick access or create your own - Use in both portrait and landscape orientation for both iPhone and iPad - Download on up to 6 devices for your dental team to use
Dental CE Manager
This app helps dental professionals track continuing education credits and meet state compliance requirements. It simplifies organization by automatically extracting data from certificates and provides built-in state CE requirements.
- Track continuing education credits
- Stay compliant with state regulations
- Auto-extracts certificate data from photos
- Built-in state CE requirements
- Designed for all dental team members
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Dental CE Manager Your all-in-one CE tracker for dental professionals. Dental CE Manager makes it easy to track your continuing education credits and stay compliant with state regulations. Whether you're a dentist, hygienist, or assistant, this app keeps you organized and stress-free. Why Dental CE Manager? Super easy to use Built-in state CE requirements Auto-extracts certificate data from photos Designed for all dental team members Stay on top of your CE — without the headache.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Dental CE Manager at 4.8 against ADA Chairside Instructor's 3.3. Dental CE Manager also leads on review sentiment (91% vs 50%) and update cadence (monthly vs every 7 months). ADA Chairside Instructor's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 8). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Dental CE Manager sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $35.00 per year. ADA Chairside Instructor asks for nothing beyond the download.
Dental CE Manager holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 12 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of ADA Chairside Instructor's written reviews are positive against 91% of Dental CE Manager's.
ADA Chairside Instructor ships an update every 7 months, Dental CE Manager monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ADA Chairside Instructor | Dental CE Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (8 ratings) | 4.8 (12 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 90.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 8 | 12 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #200 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 192 MB | 78 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | American Dental Association | Dental CE Manager, LLC |
Customer experience
ADA Chairside Instructor
Dental CE Manager
In-app purchases
ADA Chairside Instructor
No in-app purchases
Dental CE Manager
- Assistant Annual Plan3 Days trial$35.001 Year
- Hygienist Annual Plan3 Days trial$55.001 Year
- Dentist Annual Plan$65.007 Days
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- Dentist Annual Plan3 Days trial$99.001 Year
- Team Essentials - 5 Seats$250.00
- Team Pro - 10 Seats$400.00
- Team Growth - 20 Seats$700.00
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- Team Plus - 30 Seats$899.00
Questions
Is ADA Chairside Instructor free?
Is Dental CE Manager free?
Which has better reviews, ADA Chairside Instructor or Dental CE Manager?
Do ADA Chairside Instructor or Dental CE Manager have ads?
Which is updated more often, ADA Chairside Instructor or Dental CE Manager?
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