Open Dental support for practices in Buffalo and Rochester that run Open Dental on their own server. Because the MySQL or MariaDB database lives in your office, someone has to size it, back it up, update it and keep it secure. That is the job we take on, alongside Open Dental’s own support team.
Sized, tuned, patched and monitored.
Database and images folder, onsite and offsite, test-restored.
Every workstation updated and checked together.
Claims, statements, labels and prescriptions printing where they should.
An Open Dental server holds every patient’s record, and because it is self-hosted, protecting it is the practice’s responsibility under HIPAA. The setups we inherit often have the same gaps: a database account with a default or shared password, the database port reachable from more of the network than it needs to be, remote desktop open to the internet, or a server that has not had Windows updates in months.
When we take over an Open Dental office, we work through a standard checklist:
None of this changes how staff use Open Dental day to day. It just closes the doors that attackers look for first. Our dental cybersecurity page covers the wider approach.
Open Dental is popular partly because it gives the practice control: the database runs on a standard MySQL or MariaDB server in your office, and nothing is locked away. The trade-off is that the practice is responsible for that server. Open Dental’s support team will help with the software, but the hardware, the operating system, the database engine, the backups and the security are up to you.
That is where most Open Dental offices need outside IT help. We look after the parts Open Dental leaves to the practice, and we call Open Dental support when a question is about the program itself.
Server hardware, Windows, the MySQL or MariaDB service, backups, replication, network, workstations, printers, imaging drivers and security.
Program errors, setup questions, feature training and data questions inside the software.
Open Dental is one part of our wider dental IT support, alongside practices running Dentrix and Eaglesoft.
A database server feels fast when it can keep the busy parts of the database in memory and read the rest from fast storage. For Open Dental that usually means:
Enough RAM for Windows, for the database engine's cache, and for growth. MySQL and MariaDB are configured to use a set amount of memory, and the defaults are often too small for a busy office.
So a single drive failure does not stop the practice.
X-rays, scanned documents and photos usually take far more space than the database itself, and they grow every day.
That matches Open Dental's current requirements. We check those for your version rather than assuming.
We also look at the things around the server: a battery backup that can shut it down cleanly, a cool location, and remote access that is secure and not exposed to the internet. If you are moving to new hardware, our dental server migration process covers the move step by step.
Copying the database files of a running MySQL or MariaDB server can produce a backup that will not open. An Open Dental backup has to come from a method that creates a consistent copy, such as Open Dental’s own backup tool, a scheduled database dump, or backup software that understands MySQL. It also has to include the images folder, which holds the X-rays and documents linked to each patient.
Every Open Dental office we support gets:
Replication is not a backup. Open Dental can use MySQL replication to keep a second database server in sync, which is useful for multi-location groups or a standby server. But replication copies mistakes and corruption just as faithfully as good data, and a badly set up replica can cause more trouble than it solves. We set it up only when it fits, monitor it, and keep normal backups running alongside it. Our healthcare data backups page explains the wider approach.
An Open Dental update converts the database to the new version, and every workstation then has to run the matching version. That means updates need everyone out of the program, a backup taken first, and someone available to fix the workstation that does not update cleanly.
We also keep the database engine and Windows patched on a schedule, separately from Open Dental updates, so security fixes are not held back by a busy update calendar.
Check the release notes and confirm your server and database version are supported.
Take a consistent database backup and confirm it finished.
Close Open Dental on every computer and run the update after hours.
Launch Open Dental on each workstation, let it update, and check scheduling, charting, imaging and printing.
Day to day, most Open Dental tickets are about one workstation or one printer. The common ones we see:
After a server reboot or IP change. Usually a server name or address setting, a firewall rule, or the database service not starting.
Often an old hard drive, low memory, Wi-Fi instead of a wired connection, or antivirus scanning the images folder.
Or not printing at all after a Windows update. Printer drivers and default printer settings get reset more often than they should.
That need specific drivers and paper settings.
That stop capturing after a driver or software update. Our dental imaging IT support covers these.
We fix these remotely when we can and onsite when we cannot, and we write down what we changed so the same problem is quicker to fix next time.
No. Open Dental support remains your contact for the program. We handle the server, database engine, backups, network, workstations and printers that Open Dental leaves to the practice.
Not while the database is running. Copying live MySQL or MariaDB files can produce a backup that will not restore. Use Open Dental’s backup tool, a database dump or MySQL-aware backup software, and include the images folder.
Most single-location offices do not. Replication is useful for multi-site groups or a standby server, but it copies mistakes as well as good data, so it never replaces regular backups.
It depends on the size of your database, the number of workstations and your Open Dental version. We size against Open Dental’s current requirements and then configure the database engine to use the memory properly.
Yes. Claims, statements, labels and prescriptions often need specific printers and settings. We install the right drivers and set them up on each workstation.
Schedule a free remote or on-site IT consult. Tell us about your business and the services you need – response times are typically under three hours.
