Keeping a Baytown Dental Practice Running When Their Server Crashed
The Situation
A busy dental practice in Baytown came to us in crisis mode. Their Dentrix server had completely gone down, which meant none of their computers could access patient records, scheduling, or billing. Everything had ground to a halt.
But that wasn't their only problem. Even before the crash, they'd been struggling with Dentrix running painfully slow across all their workstations. Their team was getting frustrated, and patients were waiting longer than they should. Additionally, they were unable to attach X-rays to insurance claims properly, and patient forms weren't syncing with their system. Minor issues individually, but together they were eroding their efficiency every single day.
When your practice management software goes down, you're not just dealing with an IT problem—you're dealing with angry patients, lost revenue, and a stressed-out staff. This practice needed help, and they needed it fast.
What Allierad IT Solutions Did
We addressed this issue in phases, starting with the emergency and then addressing the root causes to prevent it from happening again.
Got Them Back Online
When the server crashed, our team responded immediately. We discovered the server was entirely out of memory and storage space—no wonder it gave up. We cleaned up over 50GB of unnecessary data that had been accumulating, freed up the server resources, and got Dentrix back online. The practice was up and running within hours, rather than days.
Fixed the Performance Issues
To solve the ongoing slowness and compatibility problems, we scheduled an after-hours upgrade of Dentrix to the latest version on all workstations. No one wants their software updated in the middle of a workday with patients in the chairs. We also ran database maintenance utilities to repair a corrupt database that had been dragging everything down.
Worked With Their Other Vendors
Here's something many IT companies won't do—we coordinated directly with their third-party software vendors, such as Lighthouse, Modento, and Rectangle Health. We provided them with secure access to troubleshoot integration issues and ensured that everything was communicating properly with Dentrix. Sometimes fixing IT problems means picking up the phone and working with the other people in your tech stack.
Installed New Hardware
While we were at it, we installed and configured new printers and credit card terminals on-site, making sure they integrated properly with the network and their practice management software. No point in having fast software if your hardware is going to bottleneck everything.
The Results
Since implementing these fixes, the practice has experienced a significant improvement in system stability and performance. The Dentrix upgrade ensures that all their workstations are running compatible versions, which have solved the patient forms and X-ray attachment issues. Daily operations are running much smoothly now.
More importantly, we addressed the root cause of the server crashes through proactive maintenance. By monitoring server health and coordinating with their vendors, we help prevent future downtime before it occurs.
The Bottom Line
The practice is more productive, their IT environment is reliable, and they can focus on what matters—taking care of patients instead of fighting with their computers.
Allierad IT Solutions provides managed IT services and HIPAA-compliant support to dental practices throughout Houston and the surrounding areas. If your practice is facing similar IT challenges, we'd be happy to discuss how we can help.
