Guides
Dental office IT guides in plain English
These dental office IT guides explain how to back up patient data, prepare for ransomware and power problems, understand the IT side of the HIPAA Security Rule and choose the right IT help for your practice.
All guides
All five dental office IT guides
Each guide is written for dentists and office managers, not IT staff, and focuses on decisions you can make for your own practice.
Guide
Dental office data backup
What to protect, the 3-2-1 rule, why a backup only counts once you have tested a restore, and how to keep a copy ransomware cannot reach.
Guide
HIPAA Security Rule IT checklist
The IT side of the Security Rule in plain English: risk analysis, access, backups, devices and business associates.
Guide
Ransomware protection for dental offices
The everyday habits and safeguards that make an attack less likely, and what to do if one gets through.
Guide
Power outage and surge protection
How surge protectors, battery backup (UPS) and safe shutdowns protect your computers and server from power failures and surges.
Guide
Choosing a dental IT provider
A checklist for comparing IT companies: dental software know-how, a signed HIPAA BAA, backups, clear communication and remote support.
Browse by topic
Dental IT guides by topic
Not sure where to start? Pick the problem you most want to solve.
Protect your data
Your schedule, charts and billing records keep the practice running. A failed computer or server, a ransomware attack, or a power failure or surge can each put that data at risk. These three guides help you prepare for each one.
- Backing up a dental office: start here if you have never tested a restore.
- Protecting your practice from ransomware: read it before a suspicious email reaches the front desk.
- Surge protectors, UPS and safe shutdowns: worth reading if your office has had outages or flickering lights.
Compliance and choosing help
Two guides for decisions that usually sit with the dentist or office manager: what the HIPAA Security Rule expects from your IT, and who you trust to look after it.
- The HIPAA Security Rule as an IT checklist: the safeguards in 45 CFR Part 164, Subpart C, written as plain-English checks.
- How to choose a dental IT company: the questions to ask before you hand over the keys to your network.
From advice to action
Turning a guide into a plan for your office
The guides are written so you can act on them yourself. When you would rather hand the work to someone, here is how each topic lines up with what My Dental IT does.
- Backups and power problems: we set up backup systems, install and maintain backup recovery software, and handle disaster prevention and recovery for power failures and electrical surges. See dental data backup and recovery.
- Ransomware and other malware: we install and maintain malware and virus protection, and protect your network against intruders and unauthorized users. See malware and virus protection and dental office network security.
- Your server: we install and maintain server monitoring software so problems are caught in an emergency. See server monitoring for dental offices.
- HIPAA and patient confidentiality: we sign a formal business associate agreement with every customer. See how our HIPAA business associate agreement works.
Looking for a quick answer instead?
The dental IT support FAQ covers our services, the HIPAA business associate agreement, backups, remote support and how to get help. To see everything we look after, from secure networks and backups to practice software, computers and servers, browse all of our dental IT services.
Have a question about your own office? Ask My Dental IT directly.
Want help putting these guides into practice?
Tell us about your office, and we’ll talk you through backups, security and the rest of your IT.