Thinking about switching dental IT providers? What to ask first
Most practices don't switch IT providers because of one disaster. They switch after a long run of small things: the call that takes two days to return, the sensor that "can't be our problem," the new tech every visit who has never seen your server before.
Changing providers can feel risky when your schedule depends on the computers working at 8 a.m. Done carefully, it doesn't have to interrupt a single patient. Here's how to think it through.
Signs it may be time
- You explain your setup again every time you call, because you rarely talk to the same person twice.
- Problems with imaging or practice software turn into finger pointing between your IT company and the vendor.
- Nobody can tell you when your backups were last tested, or whether imaging is included.
- Updates and replacements only happen after something breaks.
- You can't get a straight answer about what you're paying for.
- You've been asked to sign a multi-year contract to keep the relationship going.
One of these on a bad week is normal. Several, month after month, is a pattern.
Questions to ask a new provider
Ask these in a first conversation. The answers tell you a lot.
- How many dental practices do you support, and which practice software and imaging systems do you work with day to day?
- Will we have the same techs each time we call? Who are they?
- Will you sign a business associate agreement?
- What do you put on every computer for security, and who watches the alerts at night and on weekends?
- How do you back up a dental office, and how do you prove imaging is included?
- When did you last restore a practice's data, and how long did it take?
- How do you work with Henry Schein, Dentsply Sirona or our other vendors when something breaks?
- What does the contract look like? How long is the term, and what happens if we want to leave?
- How do you handle the switch from our current provider?
Listen for specifics. "We do it all" isn't an answer. "Here's what we set up, here's who you'll talk to, and here's the last time we restored a server" is.
How a switch should work
A good transition is mostly planning, and most of it happens before anything changes in your office.
First, a walkthrough. The new provider visits, looks at the server, operatories, imaging, network and backups, and learns how your team actually works.
Next, the handoff. The new provider works with the old one to collect passwords, admin accounts, licensing details and documentation. You shouldn't have to referee this. If your current provider is slow to cooperate, a good new provider knows what to ask for and how to recover access properly.
Then the quiet setup. Monitoring, security tools and new backups go on in the background, usually without anyone at the front desk noticing. Bigger changes, like a server replacement, are scheduled after hours or on a day the office is closed.
Finally, the first real test. Within the first few weeks, the new provider should restore something from the new backups and show you that it worked.
How we approach it
We support 11 dental and specialty practices across Western North Carolina, and we've taken over from other IT companies before. Every practice gets a tech pod, a named primary tech and a secondary who back each other up, so the people who answer already know your office. Managed IT is month to month. If we ever stop earning your business, you can leave at the end of any month and we'll hand everything over cleanly.
We'll sign a business associate agreement whenever you ask, and we put layered protection on every computer we manage, designed to stop as much as possible, with SentinelOne watched 24/7.
Final thoughts
You don't need to be in a crisis to look around. A good first conversation costs nothing but a little time, and it should leave you with a clearer picture of your own setup whether or not you switch.
If you're weighing a change, we're glad to talk it through, answer the questions above and tell you plainly what we'd do first in your office.
