Comparison

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.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

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

ADA Chairside Instructor3 screens
Dental CE Manager4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
ADA Chairside Instructor versus Dental CE Manager: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterADA Chairside InstructorDental CE Manager
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (8 ratings)4.8 (12 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews90.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings812 — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#200 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS16.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size192 MB78 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperAmerican Dental AssociationDental CE Manager, LLC

Customer experience

ADA Chairside Instructor

All ratings8 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Dental CE Manager

All ratings12 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive90.9%
Neutral9.1%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

ADA Chairside Instructor

No in-app purchases

8 purchases

Dental CE Manager

Subscriptions4
  • Assistant Annual Plan3 Days trial$35.001 Year
  • Hygienist Annual Plan3 Days trial$55.001 Year
  • Dentist Annual Plan$65.007 Days
Show 1 more
  • Dentist Annual Plan3 Days trial$99.001 Year
One-time4
  • Team Essentials - 5 Seats$250.00
  • Team Pro - 10 Seats$400.00
  • Team Growth - 20 Seats$700.00
Show 1 more
  • Team Plus - 30 Seats$899.00

Questions

Is ADA Chairside Instructor free?
ADA Chairside Instructor is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dental CE Manager free?
Dental CE Manager is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ADA Chairside Instructor or Dental CE Manager?
Dental CE Manager is rated higher. ADA Chairside Instructor averages 3.3 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while Dental CE Manager averages 4.8 from 12 ratings.
Do ADA Chairside Instructor or Dental CE Manager have ads?
Neither ADA Chairside Instructor nor Dental CE Manager shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ADA Chairside Instructor or Dental CE Manager?
ADA Chairside Instructor ships an update every 7 months, and Dental CE Manager monthly. Most recently, ADA Chairside Instructor was updated on September 17, 2026 and Dental CE Manager on September 5, 2026.

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