Dental practices face a unique compliance challenge: they must follow strict regulations from multiple sources — OSHA, ADA, state dental boards — while focusing on patient care. And compliance isn’t optional. It’s mandated by law.
The Problem
A local dental practice was drowning in paper:
- Binders full of sterilization logs
- Spreadsheets tracking X-ray machine checks
- Filing cabinets holding staff certification records
- Manual logs for hazardous waste disposal
When an OSHA inspector showed up, the office manager spent 3 hours pulling records. Miss a deadline? Risk fines. Miss an audit? Risk penalties and potential license issues.
They needed a digital solution without enterprise complexity.
The Solution: ComplyDent
I built ComplyDent — a compliance logger specifically for dental practices.
Core Features
- Equipment Sterilization Logs — Track every sterilization cycle with timestamps
- X-Ray Machine Checks — Daily/weekly/monthly QA test documentation
- Staff Certifications — License and CPR expiration tracking
- Waste Disposal Records — Hazardous and medical waste logging
- Digital Checklists — Replace paper with searchable records
- Automated Reminders — Notify staff before certifications expire
- Audit Reports — One-click generation for inspections
Tech Stack
- Next.js + TypeScript for a modern frontend
- Supabase for backend (PostgreSQL, auth, file storage)
- Tailwind CSS for clean UI
Technical Approach
Supabase for Speed
Using Supabase meant I didn’t need to build:
- A separate authentication system
- File storage infrastructure
- An API layer from scratch
Supabase handled all of this out of the box.
Role-Based Access
Different staff needed different access:
- Dentists — Full access to everything
- ** hygienists** — Complete checklists, view documents
- Front desk — Limited scheduling access
Supabase’s Row Level Security (RLS) made this straightforward.
Why This Project Matters
Dental compliance is critical:
- Protects patients from unsafe practices
- Avoids OSHA/ADA fines (can be thousands of dollars)
- Keeps practices legally compliant
- Reduces liability
The practice now:
- Completes compliance tasks in half the time
- Never misses a certification deadline
- Generates audit reports in seconds
- Has a digital paper trail for everything
It’s not rocket science, but it has real impact.
ComplyDent proved that sometimes the best software isn’t the flashiest — it’s the most reliable.