GNU Health is a free, open-source hospital and health information system from GNU Solidario, used by hospitals, public health programmes and universities. For dental teams its most relevant part is the dentistry package (health_dentistry), which adds dental procedures, treatments, reports and an odontogram to the patient record. If you are researching a GNU Health download for a clinic with a dental department, this page explains what the dental part really does and what it takes to run.
GNU Health is a server application built on the Tryton framework and PostgreSQL. It suits institutions that want dental records in the same system as medical charts, lab results and prescriptions. It is not a small-office dental program, and it has no dental imaging viewer or insurance claims of its own.
GNU Health at a glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Latest version | GNU Health HIS 5.0 series; latest server patchset 5.0.7 (11 April 2026). The 5.0 series was released on 30 June 2025 |
| Licence | Free software, GNU GPL v3 or later |
| Platforms | Server: GNU/Linux or FreeBSD. Client: GTK desktop client on GNU/Linux; on Windows and macOS the Tryton 7.0 client may work, without GNU Health plugins |
| Developer | GNU Solidario (project founded by Luis Falcón) |
| Official website | gnuhealth.org (documentation at docs.gnuhealth.org) |
| Best for | Hospitals, public clinics and dental schools that want dental charts inside a full hospital system |
What it does
- Odontogram per patient using FDI two-digit tooth numbers, for permanent teeth (11–48) and, optionally, primary teeth (51–85).
- Tooth status marking: decayed, missing, filled and for extraction.
- Dental treatments with date, health professional, notes and a pending or done state; finished treatments are signed by the professional.
- Procedures recorded per tooth and per surface (occlusal, vestibular, lingual, mesial, distal) or root.
- A starter catalogue of 15 procedures, including oral examination, cleaning, filling, sealant, root canal, crowns, extraction, implant, dentures, veneer, braces and gum surgery, which you can extend with your own codes.
- Printable odontogram and procedures reports.
- Everything else of a hospital system: appointments, prescriptions, lab, imaging (with optional Orthanc PACS integration), stock, pharmacy and billing.
How dental teams use it
Activate the dentistry package
After installing the server with gnuhealth-control, log in as administrator, go to Administration → Modules → Modules, mark health_dentistry for installation and run the pending installation. The dental fields then appear on the patient record.
Chart a new patient
Open the patient, go to the dental schema and set each tooth’s status (decayed, missing, filled, for extraction). For children, switch on the primary schema to chart deciduous teeth with numbers 51–85.
Record a treatment
Create a dentistry treatment for the patient, choose the date and professional, then add procedure lines: tooth, procedure and the surfaces treated. Use the buttons on the treatment to load procedures and update the odontogram, and end the treatment when the work is done so it is signed and locked.
Print for the patient or referral
Print the odontogram report or the procedures report from the patient or treatment record, for example to attach to a referral or to give the patient a treatment summary.
Install and first run
- Server requirements: GNU/Linux or a BSD system, PostgreSQL 15 or newer, Python 3.10 or newer; GNU Health 5.0 uses Tryton 7.0. The docs list tested systems such as FreeBSD 14.3, Debian 13, openSUSE Leap 15.6 and Ubuntu 22.04.
- Install methods: the standard “vanilla” installation with gnuhealth-control, Ansible, or packages from your distribution. Do not mix methods.
- Client: on GNU/Linux, create a Python virtual environment and install the gnuhealth-client package with pip (system GTK libraries first). openSUSE also packages the client.
- Demo data: a script in his-utils creates a local demo database with fictional patients. Databases with odd minor numbers are development versions.
- Gotchas: create the company (your health centre) on first login; keep server and client clocks in sync; encrypt the database and attachment storage as the documentation recommends.
Limitations
- The dental package is basic: four tooth states, surface-level procedures and reports. Dental procedures carry only a name and code; there is no periodontal chart, orthodontic module or dental fee schedule in the package.
- No built-in dental X-ray or CBCT viewer; images live in a PACS such as Orthanc and are viewed with a separate DICOM viewer.
- No official Windows or macOS server; the Windows and macOS client is the generic Tryton client with reduced functionality.
- Installing and upgrading requires Linux and PostgreSQL administration skills.
- No dental insurance claim formats for US or UK systems.
GNU Health vs alternatives
OpenEMR offers US-style billing and e-prescribing but has no dental chart. Bahmni is easier to deploy with Docker but also lacks dental features. Open Dental is a full dental practice system with tooth and perio charts, but it is shareware (conditionally free) and Windows-based.
FAQ
Where do I get the GNU Health download?
The server is installed with the gnuhealth-control tool described in the official documentation, or with Ansible or distribution packages. The client is installed with pip as gnuhealth-client.
Is GNU Health free?
Yes. GNU Health is free software under the GNU GPL v3 or later, including the dentistry package.
Does GNU Health run on Windows?
The server is supported on GNU/Linux and FreeBSD only. On Windows you can try the Tryton 7.0 client against a Linux server; the documentation notes it lacks GNU Health commands and plugins.
Is there a GNU Health demo?
Yes. The documentation explains how to install a local demo database with fictional patients, which is the recommended way to evaluate the system and the dental package.
Is there an official GNU Health Docker image?
The official installation guide does not list Docker. Supported methods are vanilla installation, Ansible, distribution packages, a virtual machine image and GNU Health Embedded on Raspberry Pi.
Where is the GNU Health source code?
Development is hosted on Codeberg under the gnuhealth organisation, and the modules are also published on PyPI (for example gnuhealth-dentistry).
What does the GNU Health dental module include?
An FDI-numbered odontogram for permanent and primary teeth, tooth status marking, per-tooth and per-surface procedures, signed treatments and printable odontogram and procedure reports.
Last checked against official sources: 26 September 2026 (developer website: gnuhealth.org). Versions and licence terms change — confirm on the developer's site before deploying in a clinic.
