IT Support for Dental Practices
Exodesk provides dental IT support for the workstations, networks, servers and storage behind your practice management and imaging systems. Our Christchurch and Dunedin teams work with your software vendors to investigate faults, plan upgrades and agree support responsibilities.
We scope the service around your surgeries, existing applications and opening hours. Your dental software and equipment suppliers remain responsible for their products, while we support the agreed IT environment and coordinate issues that cross those boundaries.
Tell us about your surgeries, your software suppliers and what is not working now
What does dental IT support cover?
Dental IT support covers the chairside computers, network, connectivity, supported servers and storage, backups and access that a practice relies on, plus coordination with the suppliers of its practice management and imaging software.
The practice management system holds the diary, clinical notes, recalls and accounts. The imaging pipeline runs from the sensor or scanner through a driver and the imaging application to storage and the chairside viewer. A slow or failed step in either can hold up an appointment, and the cause can sit somewhere other than where it first appears.
Exodesk has supported New Zealand businesses since 1989. Today, our Christchurch and Dunedin teams support businesses nationwide. Dental practices sit within our wider healthcare IT support.
The IT behind each surgery and the front desk
Our dental IT support is agreed system by system, so everyone knows what is included and who acts first.
Chairside computers
Workstations and screens kept to the versions and drivers your imaging supplier supports.
Network and connectivity
Switches, WiFi, internet and the links between surgeries, reception and any hosted systems.
Servers and storage
Supported servers, live imaging storage and archive capacity planned from actual growth.
Backups and restores
Backup coverage for records, images and configuration, with restores tested.
Accounts and access
Named accounts, attributable clinical access and reviewed supplier remote access.
Vendor liaison
Coordination with practice management, imaging and equipment suppliers when a fault crosses systems.
Map the systems behind each appointment
We map the systems your team uses during appointments and at reception, identify who supports each one, and agree what happens if one becomes unavailable.
This includes access to relevant records and images, supported imaging equipment, claims and payments. Image capture depends on the appointment, and a claim or payment can wait while care continues, so each system gets its own outage procedure rather than one rule for all.
The practice sets the clinical continuity procedures, and the treating practitioner decides whether care can safely proceed. Our role is to keep the agreed systems supported, detect faults and bring in the right supplier quickly.
Practice management and imaging software
We support the IT that dental practice management software and imaging applications run on, and work with their suppliers on compatibility, faults and planned changes.
- Compatibility checks. Operating system, driver, server role and integration requirements confirmed with each supplier before hardware or updates change
- Fault investigation. Practical testing to show whether a slow or failed step sits in the workstation, network, storage or application, then escalation to the right supplier
- Planned upgrades. Version changes, new surgeries and replacement hardware scheduled with the suppliers and the practice
- Reminders and messaging. An agreed owner and checks for recall queues, message credit, failures and delivery status, with the practice owning recall eligibility and clinical messages
For dental IT support, hosted software changes what runs on site, but the practice management system can also constrain a server retirement. We check each application version, imaging driver, integration, licence, network requirement and data migration with its supplier before a move. A warranty expiry is a budget and risk review point, and replacement is planned around software support, security support and serviceability.
Plan imaging storage, archive and backup
Within dental IT support, imaging storage is planned from the equipment and data the practice actually holds. Intraoral radiographs, OPG panoramic images and CBCT volumes differ in size by device and settings, so we measure output and growth rather than assume.
Live storage holds the studies needed for current care. Moving older studies to an archive depends on clinical use, supplier support and measured performance, and the archive must preserve patient identifiers, diagnostic quality, permissions and the ability to retrieve an older study when it is needed.
An archive is not a backup. Backup covers the live and archived studies, the practice management database and required configuration or keys, with recovery objectives agreed and restores of linked records and images tested. An offsite copy alone does not prove recovery. Our backup as a service covers the wider approach.
DICOM is the imaging information and communication standard that helps studies move between systems. Ask suppliers about supported export and import, compare DICOM conformance statements where they apply, and test a representative transfer, including full CBCT volumes and patient matching.
Records, retention and access
Patient records, including radiographs and scans, generally need to be retained for at least ten years from the day after the last care was provided, unless properly transferred, under the Health (Retention of Health Information) Regulations 1996.
The Dental Council patient records standard describes transfer of the complete original record, which differs from giving a patient a copy, and addresses longer retention for future care. The practice owns retention, transfer and secure disposal decisions under the Health Information Privacy Code 2020, and the Privacy Commissioner guidance on retention sets out the position. Our dental IT support covers the storage and recovery arrangements agreed with the practice, ideally recorded in a data retention policy.
- Practice sales. Records arrangements, patient communication, custodian, access permissions, transfer checks, archive costs and the licences or export facilities needed to keep records readable
- Attributable access. A shared Windows login and a shared clinical application login can produce different audit information, so we check which user each application records against clinical actions and agree controls that preserve attributable access
- Faster sign-in. Card taps, fingerprints and session switching assessed against supplier support and infection control, with employee biometrics checked against the Biometrics Code
- Supplier remote access. Approved tools, MFA, named users where supported, least privilege, logs and review dates, with ownership confirmed before an account is disabled
Access changes follow the approach in identity and access management, applied to the treatment rooms as well as the office.
How dental IT support works
We agree coverage hours, priority definitions, escalation ownership and onsite availability before support starts, and quote project work separately.
Scope the practice
List surgeries, users, opening hours, software suppliers, imaging equipment and current concerns.
Agree responsibilities
Record which systems Exodesk supports, which stay with each supplier and how faults are escalated.
Document and onboard
Capture the network, devices, storage, backups and access, and fix urgent gaps found on the way.
Support and monitor
Handle requests, monitor the agreed systems and coordinate suppliers when a fault crosses boundaries.
Review and plan
Review restores, access, storage growth and replacement dates, and plan upgrades with the practice.
What affects the cost?
Dental IT support is priced around your surgeries, users, opening hours, software dependencies and recovery needs.
- Ongoing service. What the support arrangement includes, the hours covered and the systems monitored
- Imaging and storage. Storage, archive and backup sized from the equipment and data the practice actually holds
- Projects. Hardware, migrations, new surgeries and server changes, each quoted separately
- Supplier work. Application and equipment support that stays with the relevant supplier
We confirm inclusions, exclusions and GST treatment in writing before work starts.
Dental IT support questions
What software does a dental practice need to run?
A dental practice runs practice management and imaging applications, with payment, accounting and messaging tools alongside them. Confirm the supported versions and integrations with the relevant suppliers.
Do small single-surgery practices need managed IT support?
Size alone does not decide it. Agree support coverage, escalation and recovery arrangements for the systems the surgery relies on, scaled to its hours and risk.
Can dental images be stored in Microsoft 365 or a normal cloud drive?
Use the live storage approved by your imaging supplier. General-purpose file synchronisation may be unsuitable for an active imaging database. Any cloud archive or backup needs appropriate security, retention, readable exports and tested recovery.
How long does a dentist have to keep X-rays in New Zealand?
Generally at least ten years from the day after the last care was provided, unless the records are properly transferred. A copy given to a patient is different from transferring the complete original record, and longer retention may be appropriate.
What happens to patient records if a dental practice is sold?
Plan the records handover, patient communication and lawful transfer arrangements before settlement. Confirm the custodian, access, completeness and continued readability of the records and imaging archive.
Can a dental practice run entirely without on-site hardware?
Not entirely. Cloud services can reduce server requirements, but a practice still needs local devices, imaging equipment and connectivity. Confirm whether your software, imaging equipment and integrations support the proposed arrangement.
What is an OPG and how big is the file?
An OPG is a panoramic dental radiograph. File size varies by equipment and settings, so measure actual output and growth rather than assuming a fixed size.
Can Exodesk work with our existing dental software vendor?
Yes. Exodesk supports the agreed IT environment and coordinates with your practice management and imaging suppliers. Application and equipment support responsibilities are confirmed when the service is scoped.
How do we stop the practice diary going offline?
Reduce avoidable outages through supported systems, monitoring, appropriate resilience and tested recovery. Agree outage procedures and responsibilities in advance, because no design can promise uninterrupted availability.
What should a dental practice ask a new IT provider?
Ask about relevant product experience, support hours, response targets, vendor escalation and recovery testing. Confirm the services included and which work requires a separate quote.
Is patient data safe if the practice uses a cloud imaging service?
It depends on the service and its configuration. Assess access, supplier terms, data handling, backups, recovery and exit arrangements, because a cloud label alone does not establish compliance or security.
Where do we start if the practice has not had an IT review before?
Tell Exodesk about your surgeries, software suppliers and current support concerns. We discuss the support required and agree next steps, including any separately scoped review work.
Talk to us about dental IT support
Tell us how many surgeries you run, which practice management and imaging software you use, and what is causing problems now. We will suggest a support scope and the next step. Please leave passwords and patient details out of the enquiry.
Talk to us about your practice
Tell us your practice, location and the systems you rely on, and we will be in touch to arrange a time that suits.
Prefer to talk?
Christchurch
Level 1, 85 Riccarton Road
Christchurch 8011
03 343 3124
Dunedin
Level 3, Bartons Building
2 Stafford Street, Dunedin 9016
03 479 2941