How to Choose an IT Company for Your Dental Practice

Your IT company touches every part of the day in a dental office: the front desk schedule, charting in the operatories, digital X-rays, insurance claims and patient communication. When IT works, nobody notices. When it does not, appointments back up and patient information can be put at risk. Choosing the right partner is one of the most important technology decisions a practice makes, so it is worth comparing providers carefully.

1. Look for real dental experience

General IT companies can keep computers running, but dental offices have needs most businesses do not: practice management databases, imaging sensors, panoramic and CBCT units, intraoral cameras, and software vendors who must be coordinated during updates. Ask how many dental offices the provider supports today and which practice management and imaging systems they work with every week. A provider that already knows your systems fixes problems faster and avoids the trial and error that leads to downtime.

2. Ask how support actually works

• Response times. How quickly does a technician start working on an urgent issue, such as the front desk being unable to check patients in?
• Help desk access. Can your team call, email or open a ticket, and will they reach a live technician?
• Onsite visits. When does a technician come to the office, and is onsite work included or billed separately?
• After-hours coverage. Who helps if the server fails on a Saturday before a full Monday schedule?

3. Make security and HIPAA part of the conversation

An IT company that can access systems storing patient information is a business associate under HIPAA, and it should sign a HIPAA business associate agreement before work begins. Beyond the paperwork, ask what security is included: endpoint protection, email filtering, firewall management, security patching, multi-factor authentication and encryption. Ask how they would respond if your practice had a security incident. Our HIPAA IT checklist for dental offices lists the technical safeguards to look for.

4. Check how backups are handled

Years of charts and X-rays live on your server or in the cloud. Ask whether backups run automatically, where copies are stored, whether at least one copy is kept offsite and protected from ransomware, and how often a restore is tested. A backup that has never been tested is only a hope. Our guide to ransomware protection for dental offices explains why tested, separate backups matter.

5. Expect clear, predictable pricing

Most managed IT providers charge a monthly fee based on the number of workstations and servers. The proposal should spell out what is included, what is billed separately and how projects such as new computers or an office move are priced. Be cautious about very low prices that leave out monitoring, backups or security. Our guide to managed IT costs for dental offices explains what drives the price.

6. Ask about vendor management

Dental offices rely on many outside vendors: practice management and imaging software, equipment dealers, and phone and internet providers. A good IT partner calls those vendors for you, coordinates software updates after hours and stays on the problem until it is solved, so your team can focus on patients. Learn more about our vendor management for dental offices.

7. Plan for growth

If you plan to add operatories, open another location or join a group, ask how the provider standardizes equipment and brings new offices online. Practices with more than one office should also read our guide to IT support for multi-location dental practices.

Warning signs

• No written agreement, or a refusal to sign a HIPAA business associate agreement.
• Vague answers about backups, or no record of restore tests.
• Only one technician who knows your systems.
• Long contracts with no clear service levels.
• Little or no experience with dental software and imaging.

Common questions

Should a dental office use a local IT company?
Remote support solves most problems quickly, but onsite help matters for network, imaging and hardware issues. Choose a provider that offers both and can reach your office when needed.

How long does it take to switch IT companies?
Most offices can switch within a few weeks. The new provider documents your systems, collects passwords and vendor contacts, installs monitoring and confirms that backups are working. Our guide to switching dental IT companies explains each step.

Is managed IT better than paying by the hour?
For most practices, yes. A managed plan pays the provider to prevent problems through monitoring, patching and backup checks, instead of only reacting after something breaks.

Dental Technologies has provided managed IT for dental offices since 2010, with offices in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and Newark, Delaware. Get an instant IT plan quote or learn more about our managed IT services for dental offices.