Comparison
HelpDental Assist vs DigitalTCO
Prices and features checked 17 August 2026
DigitalTCO is a single tier dental scribe built by Kevin Shannon, a dentist, and sold on one price with everything included. It records the appointment live or takes a dictation afterwards, and it generates letters and consent forms as well as notes.
Assist is ambient only, and it shows the source of note text for the clinician to review before copying.
The two products are closer in shape than any other pair on this site. Both are one tier, both are built by a practising dentist, both are copy and paste into the practice software.
01The comparison
Assist and DigitalTCO side by side.
Price
Assist:£99 per dentist per month. £79 a month if you pay for the year.
DigitalTCO:£89 a month, single tier, everything included. £1,068 a year plus VAT if you pay annually.
Group practices are asked to contact them for a multi dentist discount.
Source: DigitalTCO's own pageFree trial
Assist:28 days free. No card.
DigitalTCO:28 days, nothing due on the day, no card charged.
Source: DigitalTCO's own pageHow it captures the appointment
Assist:Ambient. It listens to the appointment and the words appear on screen as they are said.
DigitalTCO:Records the appointment live or takes a dictation afterwards. Their stated minimum is 30 seconds of voice.
Source: DigitalTCO's own pageGoes into your practice software
Assist:Copy and paste into any system. There is no native integration.
DigitalTCO:Copy and paste. Their FAQ says no integration is required, and lists Dentally, EXACT, R4, SOE and others as compatible in that sense.
Source: DigitalTCO's own pageTemplates
Assist:Your own templates and protocols, written and edited by you.
DigitalTCO:No template to choose. Their stated approach is that the AI learns your structure, phrasing and protocols.
Source: DigitalTCO's own pageShows where each line came from
Assist:Shows whether text came from the appointment, a selected template or clinician-approved saved wording. The clinician reviews and edits the note before copying.
DigitalTCO:Not described on their public pages.
Source: DigitalTCO's own pagePatient facing documents
Assist:Notes only. Assist does one job.
DigitalTCO:Referral letters, patient letters and procedure specific consent form PDFs, plus reusable dictated content.
Source: DigitalTCO's own pageAudio recordings
Assist:Unsaved audio is removed after processing. Saved audio stays with the note until you delete it. We do not opt patient data into a provider's model-training programme.
DigitalTCO:You choose whether to save the audio. They state patient data is never used for AI model training.
Source: DigitalTCO's own pageWhere the data sits
Assist:UK and EU cloud services. The full processor list is in the data processing agreement.
DigitalTCO:Not stated on their public pages.
Source: DigitalTCO's own pageWho builds it
Assist:Built in the UK by a practising dentist.
DigitalTCO:DigitalTCO Ltd, registered in Scotland since February 2024. Founded by a practising dentist.
Source: DigitalTCO's own page| Assist | DigitalTCO | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £99 per dentist per month. £79 a month if you pay for the year. | £89 a month, single tier, everything included. £1,068 a year plus VAT if you pay annually. Group practices are asked to contact them for a multi dentist discount. |
| Free trial | 28 days free. No card. | 28 days, nothing due on the day, no card charged. |
| How it captures the appointment | Ambient. It listens to the appointment and the words appear on screen as they are said. | Records the appointment live or takes a dictation afterwards. Their stated minimum is 30 seconds of voice. |
| Goes into your practice software | Copy and paste into any system. There is no native integration. | Copy and paste. Their FAQ says no integration is required, and lists Dentally, EXACT, R4, SOE and others as compatible in that sense. |
| Templates | Your own templates and protocols, written and edited by you. | No template to choose. Their stated approach is that the AI learns your structure, phrasing and protocols. |
| Shows where each line came from | Shows whether text came from the appointment, a selected template or clinician-approved saved wording. The clinician reviews and edits the note before copying. | Not described on their public pages. |
| Patient facing documents | Notes only. Assist does one job. | Referral letters, patient letters and procedure specific consent form PDFs, plus reusable dictated content. |
| Audio recordings | Unsaved audio is removed after processing. Saved audio stays with the note until you delete it. We do not opt patient data into a provider's model-training programme. | You choose whether to save the audio. They state patient data is never used for AI model training. |
| Where the data sits | UK and EU cloud services. The full processor list is in the data processing agreement. | Not stated on their public pages. |
| Who builds it | Built in the UK by a practising dentist. | DigitalTCO Ltd, registered in Scotland since February 2024. Founded by a practising dentist. |
02Which to pick
When DigitalTCO is the better pick
- You want to dictate after the appointment rather than record during it. Assist has no dictate afterwards mode.
- You want letters and consent form PDFs from the same tool.
- You are an associate paying for your own tools and you want letters and consent forms in the same £89 a month, with no tiers to think about.
- You would rather not maintain templates at all.
When Assist is the better pick
- You want to keep your own template and house style rather than let the tool infer a structure.
- You want the note to show its source before copying.
28 days free. No card required.
03Questions
Questions about DigitalTCO.
Which is cheaper, Assist or DigitalTCO?
DigitalTCO is £89 a month. Assist is £99 monthly, or £79 a month paid annually, which puts the annual plan below theirs. On monthly the £10 buys source marking for the clinician’s review and your own templates. Their pricing page is the place to check the current figure.
Do both offer a trial without a card?
Yes. Both run 28 days with no card. That is unusual in this category and it is the fairest way to find out whether a scribe fits how you work.
Does either one write into my practice software?
Neither. Both are copy and paste, and both will work with any practice management system on that basis.
What is the real difference between them?
DigitalTCO leans on the tool inferring your structure and covers letters and consent forms. Assist keeps your template and puts the emphasis on showing what the draft assumed and making you confirm it before sign off.