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IT Support for Dentists: What Should You Look For
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Ezra Angelo
- • March 25, 2026
This buyer’s guide is built from the gaps practices reported when they switched to Ekim. The IT provider who had never touched Dentrix, the compliance documentation that was never produced, the imaging bridge that stayed broken for a week because no one on the support team knew what an imaging bridge was.
Ekim IT Solutions is the dental-exclusive IT provider that most dentists find after already having one IT support relationship that did not work. Here is exactly what dentists should look for in IT support before signing, not after.
Most IT support companies that market to dental practices also support law firms, retail businesses, and nonprofits. Their dental knowledge is proportional to how many dental clients they happen to have. A practice that represents 5 percent of a general IT firm’s revenue gets 5 percent of their attention when a dental-specific issue hits.
The Six Things Every Dentist Should Look For in IT Support
Dental Software Expertise Before Onboarding
The right IT support provider already knows your platform before your first support call. Ask any provider to describe the most common Dentrix, Eaglesoft, or Open Dental issue they resolved in the last 30 days. A dental-specific provider answers without hesitation. A general provider does not. This question alone eliminates most general IT firms from consideration.
HIPAA Documentation as a Standard Deliverable
The right IT support for dentists produces a Security Risk Assessment, manages Business Associate Agreements, and maintains technical documentation as standard components of the service agreement. Not as add-ons. Not as things the practice has to request. If HIPAA documentation is not named explicitly in the agreement, it is almost certainly not included.
Imaging Support Included
Dental imaging bridges, DEXIS sensors, Carestream systems, and intraoral cameras are clinical infrastructure. A broken imaging bridge during patient hours is not a standard help desk ticket. It is a clinical emergency that stops treatment. The right IT support for dentists treats it accordingly, with a defined escalation path and a response commitment for imaging system failures.
A Signed Business Associate Agreement
Any IT provider that accesses systems containing patient data is a Business Associate under HIPAA and must sign a BAA before services begin. Ask for the BAA before signing anything else. A provider that has not offered one, or does not know what one is, should be removed from consideration immediately.
Proactive Monitoring, Not Break-Fix Reactivity
The right IT support for a dental practice is watching your systems before something breaks. Proactive monitoring catches failing hard drives, expiring certificates, and network performance degradation before they affect patient care. Break-fix support responds after the practice is already down, which is too late.
Defined Response Times in Writing
Every IT support agreement for a dental practice should include a written commitment to response times for different issue categories. Imaging failure and server down should carry a faster contractual response than a workstation software question. If the agreement does not distinguish between issue severity levels, response time is undefined.
Score Your Current IT Support
Check each item your current IT provider actually delivers, not just offers.
Answers dental software questions without hesitation, unprompted
Produces HIPAA documentation as a standard deliverable, not an add-on
Includes imaging bridge and sensor support with a defined escalation path
Signed a Business Associate Agreement before services began
Monitors systems proactively rather than waiting for something to break
Response times for different issue severities are defined in writing
How Ekim IT Solutions Meets This Standard
Ekim IT Solutions is the dental-exclusive IT provider endorsed by the Maine Dental Association, serving dental practices across Maine, New England, Tampa Bay, and nationwide. Every engagement includes dental software expertise across all major platforms, HIPAA documentation as a standard deliverable, imaging support as a core service, a signed BAA before services begin, proactive monitoring, and defined response times in the service agreement. These are the standards every dentist should expect and hold any IT provider to before signing.
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. Most practices that switch to us do it after an IT provider who had never touched Dentrix, never produced compliance documentation, or left an imaging bridge broken for a week because no one knew what it was.
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- • March 25, 2026
