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How to Check If Your Dentrix Workstations Are on Windows 10
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Ezra Angelo
- • March 18, 2026
Most practice owners assume someone else, an office manager or whoever set up the computers originally, knows the answer. In practice, nobody has checked recently, and the only way to know for certain is to look at each machine directly.
Here is the exact, step-by-step process Ekim IT Solutions uses to check every Dentrix workstation in a practice before Henry Schein’s June 30, 2026 deadline.
Most dental practices that discover they have Windows 10 workstations running Dentrix find out by accident, usually when a machine fails or a support call gets declined, rather than through a deliberate check.
A five-minute check per workstation, done proactively, replaces that discovery moment with a planned upgrade timeline instead of an emergency. Finding out during a hardware failure after June 30, 2026 means dealing with an unsupported reinstall and an unplanned Windows 11 upgrade at the same time.
The Four-Step Dentrix Windows 10 Check
Check the operating system on each workstation running Dentrix
- 1.
Right-click the Start button and select Settings, or press the Windows key and I together to open Settings directly.
- 2.
Select System, then scroll down and select About.
- 3.
Under Windows specifications, look at the Edition field. If it says Windows 10 in any form, including Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10 Home, that machine needs to be upgraded before the deadline. If it says Windows 11, that machine has already cleared this specific hurdle.
Check the Dentrix server separately — it runs a server OS, not a desktop OS
Your Dentrix server needs the same check, but it runs a server operating system rather than a standard desktop edition. On the server, follow the same Settings path, but expect to see Windows Server 2016, 2019, or 2022 rather than Windows 10 or 11.
If the server is running Windows Server 2016 or an older edition, that is a separate upgrade consideration from the workstation-level Windows 10 deadline, though both should be addressed together before Henry Schein’s cutoff.
Record what you find for every machine as a simple list
Build a simple list: one row per workstation, noting the operating system, the Dentrix version installed, and whether that machine runs imaging software in addition to Dentrix.
This list is also the foundation of the workstation inventory your HIPAA Security Risk Assessment should include, so completing it now serves two purposes at once. An undated, incomplete inventory is the most common gap in a Dentrix practice’s HIPAA documentation when this deadline comes up in an audit.
Check Windows 11 eligibility for any Windows 10 machine using Microsoft’s PC Health Check tool
For every workstation still on Windows 10, run Microsoft’s PC Health Check tool, available as a free download from Microsoft, to confirm whether that specific machine meets Windows 11’s hardware requirements, particularly the TPM 2.0 chip requirement that disqualifies many older machines.
Eligible: can be upgraded in-place — typically a faster, lower-cost process. Not eligible: requires hardware replacement before Windows 11 can be installed. Replacement machines need lead time for procurement, which is the most common reason practices run out of time before the deadline.
What to Do With the Results
In-place upgrade path
Schedule the upgrade before June 30, 2026. In-place upgrades can typically be completed in a few hours per workstation during off-hours or a slow clinical period. Confirm Dentrix and any imaging bridges are running correctly on Windows 11 before calling the workstation complete.
Hardware replacement path
The workstation needs hardware replacement. Start procurement immediately. Hardware procurement adds 2 to 4 weeks to the timeline. Every workstation that needs replacement is a workstation that must be ordered before the deadline closes in, not after.
Ekim IT Solutions takes this exact inventory and builds a prioritized upgrade plan, sequencing in-place upgrades first and scheduling hardware replacement for machines that cannot be upgraded, all aimed at completing the transition before Henry Schein’s June 30, 2026 deadline. For practices that have not yet completed the inventory, Ekim runs the check across every workstation and server as the starting point of the engagement.
What Does Your Check Tell You?
Enter what you found after running the four-step check to get your recommended next action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ekim IT Solutions works exclusively with dental practices. We serve New England and New York with on-site support and dental practices nationwide with remote support. We check every workstation and server in your practice against the June 30, 2026 deadline and handle the Windows 11 upgrades wherever they are needed.
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- • March 18, 2026
