It’s no secret that the dental industry can be somewhat old-school and slow-moving when it comes to adopting new technology. Practices stick with what they know and what they have come to think of as reliable, such as running their business—from scheduling to patient files to accounting—on a server versus more modern technology such as cloud-based applications.
While it may be easier to keep doing what you’ve always done, there are many things that can go wrong on your practice’s server that could take down your business for days or even weeks, leading to a significant amount of lost revenue and unhappy patients. In the worst-case scenario, it could even cause you to go bankrupt. That’s why it’s important to consider transitioning to a more modern setup that can save you time, money, and major hassles in the long run.
Continuous costs and maintenance
Lionel Vary, chief information officer of West Coast Dental, has firsthand experience transitioning his practice from running on a server to the cloud. While running West Coast Dental on a server-based system, Lionel experienced several costs he did not expect.
“We faced unexpected challenges beyond basic expenses like hardware maintenance and security software. Running our business on a server demanded additional investments in failover servers and infrastructure, increasing power usage, heat output, and the need for supplementary cooling. Bandwidth strain during data backups raised costs, while employee turnover risked loss of specialized knowledge crucial for efficient maintenance and troubleshooting,” he explained.
Mike Huffaker, chief revenue officer at Planet DDS, expanded on the reality of these costs.
“Setting up a new server typically costs between $12,000 and $17,000, with additional annual expenses of $2,000 to $4,000 for software licenses, maintenance, and support. Transitioning to a cloud solution significantly reduces these costs. I do want to be clear that even if using a cloud solution, you will likely still want to have a server. You just don’t need to factor in the annual cost, and you don’t need the same storage capacity or IT support. This makes cloud-based solutions a much more cost-effective option for practices.”
Safety and security
Along with these tangible costs, there are also hidden factors that can put your business’s reliability at risk, such as keeping patient data safe from bad actors. According to Lionel, one of the biggest benefits of cloud-based systems is the mitigation of potential data loss.
“In the era of electronic charting, there are no paper backups of patient charts; therefore, redundant backup systems are ubiquitous. All local-server-based architectures include an off-site data backup subsystem. Thus, the potential data loss and related risk are limited to data that has not yet been backed up,” he explained.
In the event of a fire, flood, or other unforeseen calamity, on-premises servers are susceptible to damage or destruction, leading to irreversible data loss and operational disruption. The financial toll of such an event can be catastrophic, with lost revenue and recovery costs adding up.
Servers also run the even scarier risk of being breached, allowing for data theft.
“When patient data is stolen, the consequences can be catastrophic. Patient data in the hands of cyber thieves can be devastating to the business. Dealing with that sort of breach easily runs in the millions of dollars in recovery fees and has far-reaching consequences, such as increased cybersecurity insurance, loss of business, class action lawsuits, and a red flag for potential buyers of the business,” added Lionel.
Mike said, “A few years ago, we heard a powerful story from one of our customers. He recounted an incident where one of his practices was burglarized, and the server was stolen. Thankfully, because they had begun to implement cloud solutions, they could seamlessly continue operations by accessing their data from the other workstations. If they had relied on a server-based solution, the practice would have faced closure until a new server was installed and backups loaded, a process that could take weeks due to potential supply chain issues and resource availability,” he emphasized.
HIPAA compliance
Maintaining HIPAA compliance is crucial, and data must be securely stored to adhere to regulations. Cloud solutions offer continuous updates, ensuring compliance without the need for manual intervention. Server-based systems require manual installation and updates, introducing opportunities for mistakes and potential vulnerabilities. If you use outdated software that is not HIPAA-compliant, you run the risk of hefty fines. Staying compliant protects both patient data and your practice’s finances.
“HIPAA regulations call for physical data controls so that only authorized personnel may have access to data—that means the IT team. When it comes to local office servers, they have to be enclosed in a lockable cage or server room. The servers cannot be placed anywhere in the front desk area, break room, or in the manager’s office. To achieve this, our IT team had to coordinate with the facilities department to ensure locks were placed on our server rooms. Additionally, we had to tackle the issue of emergency access to server rooms in special circumstances. We’ve eliminated these situations with the cloud,” added Lionel.
Making the transition from servers to cloud
Change is hard. But the risks of sticking with a server-based system in your dental practice far outweigh the benefits. So how can you make the transition easier?
“The team within a dental organization must understand why the change is necessary. They need to see the benefits: increased security, lower IT costs, expanded features for revenue growth and efficiency. However, they must also expect a short-term disruption during the transition period. This includes learning new software, auditing data, and ensuring a smooth data migration. Without buy-in and understanding of the benefits, undergoing such a significant change becomes pointless,” said Mike.
For Lionel, the transition was not necessarily easy, but it had to be done.
“DSOs need to recognize that our primary focus is providing dental care—not managing data security or IT infrastructure. By minimizing our IT footprint and embracing cloud-based practice management systems tailored to DSO workflows, we can allocate more resources to patient care,” he said. “To significantly grow our location count, we needed a solid practice management software foundation. Some of the key decision factors driving the selection were data security, cloud infrastructure, and feature abundance in clinical, RCM, and communication areas.”
Lionel has now successfully transitioned 40 offices to the cloud and opened six new locations within the same time frame. Since then, his practices have noticed speed improvements in accessing data, especially for dental images and X-rays. This, along with streamlined workflows, allowed them to reduce front desk staff and shorten end-of-day tasks, enabling staff to leave earlier. Additionally, they decreased hardware costs by removing unused servers, storage devices, and support PCs.
The choice is clear
The hidden costs of server-based practice management systems are too great to ignore. From the threat of data loss and downtime to the risks of noncompliance and security breaches, the vulnerabilities of servers pose a significant risk to practice reliability, safety, and patient care. By embracing cloud-based solutions, practices can unlock a new era of efficiency, reliability, and peace of mind. The time for change is now—let's pave the way for a brighter, more secure future for dental practices everywhere.
Editor's note: This article originally appeared in DE Weekend, the newsletter that will elevate your Sunday mornings with practical and innovative practice management and clinical content from experts across the field. Subscribe here.
