Dental software offline mode: what works when the internet drops

What can reception do in the dental software offline mode?

Three things, and only these:

• See the saved schedule for today and tomorrow: time, provider, status and reason for the visit.
• See each patient's name, phone number and active medical alerts. Alerts show only for users who are allowed to read medical information.
• Tap Mark arrived on a patient, if their role allows it.

The schedule is read-only. A banner at the top says when the copy was saved. Patients you marked show a Pending sync badge until the internet is back.

If the internet drops while the calendar is open, the calendar itself switches to this saved view. If someone reloads the tab while offline, Synora shows a no-connection page with an Open saved schedule link. That link opens a simpler saved-schedule page with the same list but no reason for the visit, and you can still mark patients as arrived.

What still needs the internet?

Most of Synora. This is a limited offline mode for the front desk, built for the moment the connection drops.

These need the internet:

• Registering a new patient
• Booking, moving or cancelling an appointment
• Invoices and payments
• The dental chart, visit notes and prescriptions
• WhatsApp messages and reports
• Settings
• Signing in

While offline, the banner also says other screens need the internet. For those jobs, a phone hotspot is still the quickest backup.

What do we need to do before the internet drops?

Sign in and open the calendar once while the internet works. That saves the schedule for today and tomorrow on that device. You cannot sign in while offline, and if the calendar was never opened online, the screen tells you so.

After that you do nothing. While the calendar is open, Synora refreshes the copy when you open it, when the connection returns, and about every 10 minutes. It replaces the old copy only if the appointment list loaded in full, so a weak connection cannot leave you with a half-empty schedule. If one patient's details fail to load, that patient keeps what was saved last time.

The copy covers one branch, the one open in the calendar. Appointment notes are not saved.

What happens to the check-ins when the internet comes back?

Synora first checks that the server really answers, because a device can show Wi-Fi without having internet. Then it sends the saved check-ins one at a time, oldest first. Each one carries its own key, so the server ignores a repeat, even if the connection flickers halfway through.

If the connection or server fails, Synora stops, waits and tries again, starting at 2 seconds and backing off up to 5 minutes, so the order stays right. A check-in the server refuses goes to Needs review and the next one is still sent.

Sending happens while Synora is open on the device. It is not a background sync. If the tab was closed, the saved-schedule page has an Open Synora link, and it opens Synora by itself when the internet returns, so the queue can go out.

What is the Needs review list?

Sometimes the appointment changed while you were offline. When the server cannot apply a check-in, it keeps the refusal in a list called Needs review, and a person decides.

This happens when the appointment was changed after the copy was saved, was cancelled, was already checked in or finished, no longer exists, or when the server refuses it for any other reason. A check-in still waiting after 72 hours is not sent either. It goes to the same list.

Each row says why in plain words. You can dismiss it. For the case where the appointment was only changed, there is also Check in anyway, after someone has looked at it. While the person stays signed in, nothing leaves the queue unless the server accepted it or a person dismissed it.

How long does the saved schedule last, and is the data safe on the device?

The saved schedule can be opened offline for 12 hours after it was saved. After that it is hidden and the screen asks you to connect and refresh. After 72 hours it is never shown, and it is deleted the next time the saved schedule is opened or refreshed on that device.

On the device, the copy is encrypted with AES-GCM-256, using a key made on that device that cannot be exported. It holds only what the front desk needs: the schedule details, each patient's name, phone number and medical alerts. It holds no notes, invoices or chart. It is wiped when the user signs out (unsent check-ins too), when another person signs in on the same device, and once it is older than 72 hours. If a session only expired, unsent check-ins stay for the same person. They hold appointment ids and no names.

There are limits. This does not protect against someone who is already logged into the computer's own account and opens the browser and Synora. Lock the device when you leave the desk. Synora is dental clinic software by Nano AI.

Which plans, devices and browsers support it?

Offline mode is in Basic and Pro. It is not on the Free plan, which stores nothing on the device.

It runs in the browser. There is no separate app to install, and installing Synora as a web app is optional. The browser needs IndexedDB and Web Crypto. Private or incognito windows, or blocked site storage, can make it unavailable. Some iPhones (Safari) can clear site data after days without use, so let the check-ins sync before you close the app for a long time.