Last Updated: October 2026

For most dental practices, the best dental IT support option is a dental-specific managed service provider (MSP). It’s the only model that pairs proactive monitoring, hands-on knowledge of your dental software, and a full team behind you instead of one person.

Last Updated: October 2026
What does it mean for a dental practice to “go naked” on IT?
Going naked means running your practice without a proactive IT and security partner watching your systems. That looks like break-fix tech you call when something dies, a “tech-savvy” team member who got the job by default, or no one at all.

Last Updated: October 2026

Dental office phishing is when scammers send fake emails, posing as a vendor, the dental board, or ever your own doctor, to trick your team into clicking a bad link or sharing a password. This guide shows four real examples, five reg flags your team can spot in seconds, and a 5-minute huddle script you can use this week.

Most practices don’t shop for an IT provider very often. You sign, move on with running your practice, and don’t think about it again until something breaks or until you’re opening a second location and realize your current setup wasn’t built for this.

No, as of September 2026, the proposed HIPAA Security Rule overhaul (mandatory encryption, MFA, asset inventories, semiannual vulnerability scans, annual penetration testing, 72-hour restoration, and more) is still not final law. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has pushed its target finalization date multiple times, most recently to around July 2027. And that’s the target to issue a final rule, not a compliance deadline.

Most people slow down after 40 years in dentistry. Dr. Mark Cruz opened a practice three times the size of his last one.

This year, he moved his restorative and periodontal practice into a new facility, brought on partners, and folded in an airway-focused approach to care – “treating the patient attached to the teeth, not just the teeth attached to the patient.

Last Updated: August 2026

For the 2026 tax year, dental practices can deduct up to $2,560,000 in qualifying technology and equipment purchases under Section 179, with the deduction phasing out once total purchases exceed $4,090,000. Equipment and software must be purchased or financed and placed into service by December 31, 2026.

You know your practice needs it.

A 2026 comparison of dental AI tools for imaging, voice charting, AI receptionists and insurance verification — plus how to find the exact stack that fits your PMS and imaging software.

Kim Shepherd was “scared to death” when her small IT provider merged into a larger company. Thirteen years later, Aadland Dental Group has grown from one doctor to three — and Kim says she never has to think about her IT. Here’s her story, in her own words.

You call your IT company because something's wrong. Maybe it's your imaging sensor. Maybe your whole network just went dark ten minutes before your first patient.

And what do you get? Non-stop ringing or “Leave a message and…” You never even get to speak to a person.