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DigitalTCO vs Kiroku
Both are dental-specific documentation tools built by dentists. But they take fundamentally different approaches — Kiroku is template-driven with AI assistance, while DigitalTCO is voice-first with AI that structures your notes for you. Here's how they compare.
The short version
Kiroku and DigitalTCO are both built specifically for dentists, and both aim to solve the same problem — notes that take too long and aren't thorough enough. The difference is the approach. Kiroku gives you smart, clickable templates that your nurse or assistant fills in during the appointment. DigitalTCO gives you a microphone — you talk, and the AI writes the entire note. If you like structured, click-based templates and have a nurse helping you chart, Kiroku works well. If you want to speak naturally and have AI handle everything — notes, letters, consent forms, the lot — DigitalTCO is the more complete platform.
What is Kiroku?
Kiroku is a UK-based dental charting platform founded in 2017. While the original idea came from a dentist (Hannah Burrow), the actual platform was coded and built by software engineers. This introduces an inherent disconnect — the clinical vision has to be translated through a programmer who ultimately decides how the tool functions, sometimes forcing the dentist into workflows that make sense for software, but feel restrictive in surgery. Kiroku uses smart, clickable templates that you or your nurse fill in during appointments. The AI assists by predicting selections, but the core workflow is template-driven — you click through options rather than speaking freely. Kiroku offers 50+ pre-built templates, a Chrome extension, and has completed over 6 million appointments.
"Automated Clinical Record Keeping"
What Kiroku does well
- Dental-specific from the ground up — built by a dentist, understands dental workflows deeply
- Excellent template system — smart, clickable templates with auto-populating fields and prompts
- Great for nurse-assisted charting — nurses can click through templates while the dentist talks to the patient
- Chrome extension integrates directly alongside cloud-based PMS systems like Dentally
- Affordable entry price — starts at around $48/month (US Essential plan)
- Established product — operating since 2017 with 6 million+ appointments completed
- Strong template customisation — build your own or adapt from 50+ pre-built templates
Where Kiroku falls short
- Template-dependent workflow — you need to select a template before starting, and notes are structured around clicks, not free speech
- AI assistance is limited — users report the AI predictions become less useful over time and aren't always accurate
- No template-free mode — unlike DigitalTCO's Cheat Mode, you can't just talk and have the AI figure out the note structure
- No letter generation system — no equivalent to Letter Engine, Molar Mail, or Cariespondence for correspondence
- No consent form generation — consent PDFs aren't part of the platform
- No reusable voice-triggered content — no Spiel Store equivalent for saving and inserting explanations
- Primarily designed for click-based input — the voice features (Co-Pilot) are newer and less mature than the template system
- Freestyle mode exists but produces less structured output than template-based notes
- Conceptualised by a dentist but coded by engineers — resulting in an inherent disconnect where programmers ultimately dictate the clinical workflow
The key differences
Click-based templates vs voice-first AI
This is the fundamental difference. Kiroku's workflow centres on clicking through smart templates — your nurse selects options, ticks boxes, and fills in fields during the appointment. DigitalTCO's workflow centres on your voice — you speak naturally about the appointment, and the AI generates the entire note. Both approaches work. But one requires someone clicking through a screen during treatment, and the other lets you talk for 30 seconds after the patient leaves and get the same result.
Coded by a dentist vs Idea by a dentist
This is a subtle but critical distinction. Kiroku was conceptualised by a dentist, but built by software engineers. When a programmer decides how a clinical tool should work, you inevitably end up with workflows that make sense to a developer but feel restrictive in surgery. DigitalTCO wasn't just founded by a dentist — it was written and coded by one. Every feature, every button, and every AI prompt is built exactly how a dentist actually works at the chair, with zero translation loss between the clinical need and the software execution.
Notes only vs the full documentation suite
Kiroku does clinical notes. It does them well, with good templates and decent AI assistance. But that's where it stops. DigitalTCO does notes AND one-click referral letters, patient letters, reply letters, templated correspondence, freeform dictated letters, consent form PDFs, and reusable voice-triggered content. The documentation burden for a dentist isn't just the notes — it's everything that follows them.
Nurse-dependent vs solo-friendly
Kiroku works best when a nurse or assistant is actively clicking through templates during the appointment. That's great if you always have a nurse available. But if your nurse steps out, if you're working solo, or if you just want to dictate after the patient leaves — DigitalTCO doesn't need anyone else. Pick up your phone, talk, done.
Template selection vs Cheat Mode
With Kiroku, you choose a template before you start. Extraction template, composite template, exam template — you need to know what kind of appointment it is upfront. With DigitalTCO's Cheat Mode, you just talk. An extraction that turns into a surgical procedure? It figures it out. An emergency that becomes a multi-stage treatment plan? Handled. The AI determines the note structure from what you say, not from what template you selected.
Feature-by-feature comparison
Pricing
DigitalTCO
Everything included. No tiers. 28-day free trial.
- All features included
- Unlimited notes
- Letters, consent forms, Spiel Store
- 28-day free trial
- Cancel anytime
Kiroku
US Essential plan. UK and Practice plans available at different price points.
- — Essential plan ~$48/month (US) or ~$43/month billed annually
- — UK plans: Lite £22.80/month, Plus with analytics
- — Practice Plans available for multi-user setups at ~£49.80/month
- — 14-day free trial
- — Some features (audits, analytics) locked behind higher tiers
One more thing that matters
DigitalTCO was built by Kevin, a practising dentist who received a formal GDC complaint — not because he did anything wrong clinically, but because his notes couldn't prove he did anything right. Seven words across multiple appointments: "Examined. Discussed options. Pt happy to proceed."
That experience led him to build the tool he wished he'd had. Every feature in DigitalTCO exists because a dentist needed it — not because an engineer thought it was clever. The complaint story, the clinical terminology, the way notes need to be structured for medico-legal defensibility — it's all baked in because the person who built it has been on the wrong end of inadequate documentation.
Kiroku was built by a technology company. DigitalTCO was built by a dentist who learned the hard way.
Try both. Decide for yourself.
Start your DigitalTCO free trial, use it alongside whatever else you're evaluating, and see which one your notes look better in.
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