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What Happens If You Keep Dentrix on Windows 10
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Ezra Angelo
- • April 29, 2026
Your Dentrix installation almost certainly continues opening and running on the day after the June 30, 2026 deadline. What changes is your access to Henry Schein’s support and your exposure to accumulating, unpatched security risk.
Here is precisely what does and does not happen for a Dentrix practice that continues on Windows 10 past June 30, 2026.
Henry Schein’s June 30, 2026 deadline affects support access, not whether Dentrix continues to function on the day it passes.
The real cost shows up later: when a workstation fails and needs Dentrix reinstalled, when you call Henry Schein with a Dentrix issue on a Windows 10 machine, or when an OCR auditor or cyber insurance underwriter asks whether your systems are running supported, patched software.
What Does Not Happen on June 30, 2026
Nothing breaks on the day of the deadline
- Existing Dentrix installations on Windows 10 do not stop opening or running
- Patient records, scheduling data, and treatment history already in Dentrix are not affected or deleted
- Nothing visibly changes in the appearance or daily operation of the software that day
- No automatic shutdown or forced upgrade occurs
Support access and accumulating risk, not immediate function
- New Dentrix installations on Windows 10 are no longer supported by Henry Schein
- Support calls for Dentrix on Windows 10 may be declined even for unrelated issues
- Windows 10 security vulnerabilities continue accumulating without Microsoft patches
- HIPAA and cyber insurance exposure begins compounding immediately
What Actually Changes
New installations become unsupported
If a Dentrix workstation fails and needs to be reinstalled on a Windows 10 replacement machine, Henry Schein will not support that installation. A routine hardware failure becomes a forced, emergency Windows 11 upgrade with no IT prep time.
Support calls may be declined
Troubleshooting calls to Henry Schein for Dentrix issues on Windows 10 machines may not receive full support after the cutoff, even for problems unrelated to the operating system itself. Your OS version becomes grounds to decline support regardless of what caused the issue.
Underlying Windows 10 security risk continues accumulating
Independent of Henry Schein’s decision, Windows 10 has received no general security patches from Microsoft since October 2025. That gap widens every month regardless of Dentrix’s status. A practice running Windows 10 in late 2026 is running an OS that is 12+ months behind on security patching.
The Practical Risk: A Hardware Failure at the Wrong Time
A workstation hard drive failing in October 2026, four months after the deadline
The practice tries to reinstall Dentrix on a replacement machine and discovers Henry Schein will not support that installation on Windows 10. At that point, the practice is dealing with an emergency hardware replacement and an unsupported software installation simultaneously, which is a significantly worse position than planning the Windows 11 upgrade proactively. What would have been a planned, budgeted upgrade becomes an emergency with patients waiting and no supported path forward on the hardware already ordered.
The HIPAA and Cyber Insurance Layer
Running an end-of-life, unpatched OS creates documentation gaps in your SRA
Your Security Risk Assessment must document that systems run supported, patched software. A Windows 10 workstation running Dentrix past June 2026 is both end-of-life for Microsoft patches and unsupported by Henry Schein, creating a finding that must either be remediated or accepted as a known risk in writing.
Underwriters ask whether systems run supported, patched software
Running an unpatched, end-of-life operating system creates disclosure issues with cyber insurance underwriters. Both of these risks exist regardless of whether Dentrix itself continues functioning, and both compound the longer the upgrade is delayed.
How Does Staying on Windows 10 Actually Affect Your Practice?
Select your practice’s situation to see the specific risks that apply to you after the June 30, 2026 deadline.
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 manage the Windows 11 upgrades and hardware replacements that restore your Henry Schein support coverage and close the unpatched security gap before it costs you more than the upgrade would have.
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- • April 29, 2026
