Opening an Orthodontic Office: The Technology Checklist, Room by Room and Milestone by Milestone
The drywall crew is booked. On the plan, six chairs sit in a row with no wall behind them, and the contractor wants to know where the junction boxes go. The scanner rep has an opinion about Wi-Fi, the practice software rep has another about servers, and nobody in the site meeting owns the answer. That is the moment this orthodontic office technology checklist is for: the weeks when every decision is still cheap because it lives on paper.
This guide covers only what an orthodontic build-out adds. The whole-office view is in the orthodontic practice technology guide, and our dental IT support page explains how Legend looks after practices once they are open. Here you get a room sheet to hand to your contractor, the decisions due before each construction milestone, and a mock-day test script; the general lease-to-day-90 plan is in our dental startup IT setup guide. If your drawings are still changing, talk to an IT partner before the walls close; our page on dental startup IT services is the place to start.
In this guide
- What changes when the new office is orthodontic?
- Which technology decisions must be made before the architect finishes the drawings?
- How do you wire an open-bay chair row?
- What does the records room need?
- What do the consult room, front desk and parent lounge need?
- Does an in-office aligner or retainer lab change the network?
- Why does the practice software decide what goes in the network closet?
- What has to be decided before each construction milestone?
- How do you test an orthodontic office before the first patient?
- Which orthodontic offices has Legend helped open?
- What to ask your IT provider about an orthodontic build-out
- What does IT cost for a new orthodontic office?
- How Legend Networking can help
- Frequently asked questions
- The bottom line
What changes when the new office is orthodontic?
Three things change most. The treatment area is an open row of chairs rather than walled operatories, so cable cannot simply drop down a wall behind each chair. Records visits combine photos, panoramic and cephalometric images and intraoral scans in one appointment. And the office serves parents as well as patients, in a consult room and a lounge.
Those three differences ripple into almost every trade on the job. The table below shows where an orthodontic build-out departs from the general dental plan, and what each difference means for the people drawing the cable, power and network.
| Area | General dental build-out | Orthodontic build-out | What it means for IT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Treatment area | Walled operatories, one chair each | Open bay: a row of chairs with few or no walls between them | Data and power come up through the floor, an island cabinet or a low rear wall, so positions are fixed before flooring |
| Imaging | Sensors at the chair, a pano in a shared room | A records room with pano/ceph, a photo station, often a scanner station, and CBCT if the doctor wants it | One room carries most of the heavy imaging, its own workstation and its imaging bridge to the practice software |
| Devices in one visit | Chair computer, sensor, intraoral camera | Chair computer, scanner cart or scanner PC, patient-facing screen, sometimes a tablet for the patient or parent | More devices per chair, and several of them move between chairs on Wi-Fi |
| Consult | Treatment plan shown at the chair | A consult or treatment-coordinator room that presents records, plans and financing | A large screen, a wired workstation position and a signature device in a quiet room |
| Waiting area | Patients wait | Parents and siblings wait, often for longer | Guest Wi-Fi kept apart from the practice network, a TV, charging points |
| In-office lab | Rare | Some offices print aligner models or retainers | A printer and its PC on the network, plus the lab's own ventilation and power |
| Practice software | General dental PMS | An orthodontic PMS, often cloud-based, sometimes on an office server | The software choice sets what goes in the network closet |
Everything not in this table, such as where the server closet sits and how screens are positioned in each room, follows the general plan in our technology plan for every room of a dental office. The rest of this page goes deeper on the rows above.
Which technology decisions must be made before the architect finishes the drawings?
Eight decisions change the drawings: cloud or server practice software, where each chair's computer lives, chairside and patient-facing screens, records-room imaging, scanner models, an in-office lab, phones and fax, and camera and door positions. Each one moves cable, power or closet space, so each needs an owner and an answer before the drawings are final.
Put this table on the agenda for the next design meeting. "Who decides" is the person who has to give the architect an answer, not the person who installs it.
| Decision | Options | Why it changes the build | Who decides | Read more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Practice software: cloud or server | A cloud orthodontic PMS, or a PMS and database on a server in the office | A server needs closet space, cooling and battery backup; a cloud system makes the internet line the critical circuit. Planet DDS asks every Cloud 9 office for its own dedicated internet connection and a static IP during office hours | Doctor, with the IT partner | cloud or server orthodontic practice software |
| 2. Where each chair's computer lives | One computer per chair, one shared between two chairs, or a computer mounted on the delivery unit or cabinet | Sets the number and position of data and power points at the chair row | Doctor and office manager, with the equipment dealer | — |
| 3. Chairside and patient-facing screens | Doctor's screen at the chair, a patient-facing screen on an arm, wall or ceiling | Ceiling or arm mounts need blocking in the ceiling or wall and a cable path to the screen | Doctor, with the architect | — |
| 4. Records-room imaging | Pano/ceph only, or pano/ceph plus CBCT | Imaging units bring their own site-prep sheets for power, shielding and anchoring, and CBCT adds large image files | Doctor, with the imaging dealer | — |
| 5. Intraoral scanners: models and count | iTero, 3Shape TRIOS, Medit or another scanner, and how many | Scanners have different network rules. Align's manual says the iTero Element 5D sends scans over Wi-Fi and warns never to connect a LAN cable to it; 3Shape's TRIOS Share works on 5 GHz Wi-Fi only | Doctor, with the scanner rep and IT partner | scanner Wi-Fi in the orthodontic technology guide |
| 6. In-office aligner or retainer lab | Yes now, later, or no | A printer, its PC and network point, plus ventilation and power drawn by the contractor | Doctor | — |
| 7. Phones, fax and numbers | Port existing numbers or get new ones; fax by line or online | Sets the phone points, the phone system's network needs and the date the numbers must be ordered | Office manager, with the phone provider | when the copper phone lines go away |
| 8. Cameras and door access | Camera positions, door readers, intercom at the entrance | Each camera and reader needs a cable run and power, and the recorder needs closet space | Doctor and office manager, with the security installer | camera and door access installation for dental offices |
Two notes on that table. If you are comparing phone systems at the same time, our guide to VoIP phone systems for dental offices lists what to ask a provider. And if a used scanner cart is on the shopping list, check its generation before you buy it: 3Shape says TRIOS MOVE and TRIOS 3 carts are not compatible with Windows 11. The orthodontic technology guide linked in row 5 covers scanner networks in more depth.
How do you wire an open-bay chair row?
In an open bay there are few walls behind the chairs, so data and power for each chair's computer, screens and scanner dock come up through floor boxes, island cabinets or a low rear wall. Their positions are set before the flooring goes down, which is why the chair layout must reach the IT partner during drawings, not at move-in.
Doctors who have opened an office feel this one for years. Dr. Maggie Law, who owns Law Orthodontics in Homewood, Alabama, told Orthodontic Products in March 2025: "I also hate the position of my junction boxes at my clinic chairs." Moving a floor box after the slab is finished means cutting concrete or living with cables across the floor, so the time to get it right is on the drawings.
Open-bay chair row: what to mark on the plan
- Mark every chair's computer position and every screen position on the drawings, not just the chair itself
- Give each computer position its own data and power at that spot, with the cable path shown from the closet
- Show the cable route to each patient-facing or ceiling-mounted screen, including the wall or ceiling blocking
- Give each scanner cart or scanner PC a home where it docks and charges, out of the walkway between chairs
- Mark a ceiling access-point position over each row, counted by the devices in that row rather than by floor area
- Wire the chairs you have not equipped yet, so a future chair only needs devices, not construction
- Keep cable and floor boxes out of the paths staff walk between chairs and to the sterilization area
- Label every floor box and data point to match the cable schedule the low-voltage contractor hands over
- Ask the equipment dealer where the chair's own power and utilities come up, and keep data points clear of them
Floor boxes, island cabinets or a rear wall?
There are three common ways to bring data and power to a row of chairs, and the right one depends on the floor, the cabinetry and how often you expect to change the layout.
| Option | How it works | Watch for | Decide by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floor boxes | A box set into the floor at each chair position, fed through the slab or a raised floor | Positions are hard to move once the floor is finished; the box must not sit under a chair base or in a walkway | Before the slab is cut or the flooring is ordered |
| Island or toe-kick cabinets | A run of cabinetry between or behind chairs carries the cable and outlets | Cabinet depth and access panels must allow for cable and later changes | When the casework is drawn |
| Low rear wall | A half-height wall behind the row carries outlets and screen mounts | It changes the open feel of the bay and needs to be in the architect's design | During schematic design |
Whichever you choose, the access points above the row matter as much as the cable below it. Scanners and tablets move between chairs on Wi-Fi, and the vendors are specific: 3Shape's TRIOS Share network requirements ask for a Wi-Fi signal "stronger than -60 dBm at the scanner location", and Align's iTero Element 2 and Flex manual notes that "each barrier can reduce your adapter's range by 1-3 meters (3-9 feet)". An open bay has few barriers, but the records room, the sterilization area and the closet walls do, so draw the access points where the scanners are used, not where the ceiling happens to be convenient. The pillar guide linked in the introduction covers how to separate scanner, staff and guest Wi-Fi.
On unequipped chairs: Dr. Erin Fraundorf told the same Orthodontic Products feature that if she started over she would take a more gradual approach, beginning with a smaller space or "delaying the build out of some operatories to keep overhead costs lower in the early stages." If you take the second route, pull the cable and set the floor boxes for every chair position now. Adding devices later is a delivery; adding cable later is construction.
What does the records room need?
The records room needs a workstation for each imaging unit, power and shielding as each unit's site-prep sheet specifies, a photo station that imports straight into the patient record, a scanner station with good light, and an imaging bridge that connects every device to the practice software. If CBCT is in scope, plan for much larger image files.
Use this mini-table as the records-room sheet. "Drawn by" names who puts it on the drawings.
| Item | Data | Power and site prep | Drawn by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pano/ceph unit and its acquisition workstation | Wired data point for the workstation; the unit's own connection if the manufacturer calls for one | From the manufacturer's site-prep sheet; shielding as your state's radiation program requires | Architect and electrician, from the imaging dealer's sheet |
| CBCT, if the doctor wants it | Wired data point; plan storage and backup for large studies | From the manufacturer's site-prep sheet | Architect and electrician, from the imaging dealer's sheet |
| Photo station | A workstation, or a wired point for a laptop, that imports the camera's photos into the record | Standard outlets | Low-voltage contractor, from the IT partner's list |
| Scanner station | Wi-Fi coverage at the scanner's working position, or a wired point for a scanner PC that needs one (Medit recommends "one PC dedicated to the intraoral scanner") | Outlets for the cart or PC to charge | IT partner, with the scanner rep |
| Records display | A screen that shows the full records set to the doctor or parent | Outlet and wall blocking | Architect |
| Document scanner and printer | Wired point | Standard outlet | Low-voltage contractor |
Whether a CBCT unit belongs in the records room is a clinical call for the doctor. For planning, it helps to know that a 2019 review of cone-beam CT in orthodontics notes that orthodontists find panoramic and cephalometric radiography sufficient for most initial, progress and final records, and that CBCT use must be justified according to established guidelines. Make the decision before the electrician's drawings, because CBCT changes the room, the circuit and the storage plan. Where CBCT studies are saved and backed up is covered in the storage section of the orthodontic practice technology guide.
The imaging bridge is the part most often left until move-in. Each practice software connects to imaging differently:
- Cloud 9 (Planet DDS): the Cloud 9 system requirements say the C9 Agent "must be installed with the appropriate TWAIN driver (for Xray machines and scanners)", that Cloud 9's acquire function needs the My Documents folder to point at the local hard drive, and that the C9 Agent is not compatible with Mac. Plan Windows workstations in the records room.
- Dolphin Imaging: Legend supports the IT environment for Dolphin Imaging; our Dolphin Imaging IT support page covers servers, remote offices and capture stations.
- Other systems you may run: OrthoTrac, Ortho2 Edge, Greyfinch and others each have their own bridge or acquisition method. Ask the vendor for the imaging integration sheet before the workstations are ordered, and see our guide to dental imaging integration troubleshooting for what usually breaks.
Carestream imaging (CS Imaging), DEXIS, Vatech and Planmeca/Romexis are also platforms whose IT environment Legend supports, if your records room uses one of them.
What do the consult room, front desk and parent lounge need?
The consult room needs a large screen, a wired workstation position and a signature device for contracts and financing. The front desk needs check-in, card terminals, phones and printers. The parent lounge needs guest Wi-Fi kept separate from the practice network, a TV and charging points. Each is small, but each needs a point drawn on the plan.
| Room | Devices | Data and power to draw | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consult or treatment-coordinator room | Large screen, workstation or wired laptop position, signature pad or tablet | Wired point at the desk, a cable path to the screen, outlets at the desk | Planet DDS lists signature devices among the things the C9 Agent connects, so check signature hardware against your PMS |
| Front desk | Check-in tablet or kiosk, card terminals, phones, label and receipt printers | Wired points for each fixed device, phone points, outlets under the counter | The general room plan linked above covers the rest of the front desk |
| Parent lounge | Guest Wi-Fi, a TV, charging points | Access-point coverage, a TV point, outlets near seating | Guest Wi-Fi kept separate from the practice network; the pillar guide's network section explains how |
| Doctor's office | Workstation, second screen, phone | Wired point, phone point, outlets | Remote access for the doctor is decided with the PMS (see the closet section below) |
If the office will see children for general dentistry as well as orthodontics, our pediatric dental IT support page covers what a combined pediatric and orthodontic office adds.
Does an in-office aligner or retainer lab change the network?
A little. A 3D printer and the PC that sends jobs to it each need a network point, and the vendor's software must be able to find the printer on the network. Ventilation and power are the contractor's job. Ask the printer vendor for its network rules before the lab's points are drawn.
In-office lab: four things to settle
- Ask the printer vendor, in writing, for its network rules: wired or Wi-Fi, same network as the PC or not, and any ports
- Draw a wired data point and outlets at each printer and at the PC that sends jobs to it
- Tell the IT partner, so the firewall and security software do not block the printer from being found
- Leave room on the network switch and the closet battery backup for the lab if it is "later" rather than "now"
SprintRay's support pages show what a written answer looks like. On Wi-Fi, "ensure the printer and computer are on the same subnet" and "Avoid public guest networks"; a wired LAN connection is "recommended for locations with advanced security protocols or weak Wi-Fi signals"; and the firewall must allow a list of SprintRay endpoints, most on port 443 and some on MQTT ports 8883 and 8443. SprintRay also says an active internet connection "is required for sending print jobs, receiving updates, and communicating with SprintRay Cloud." It publishes no bandwidth figure.
Print jobs from a cloud workflow also use the internet line, so count the lab when you size the internet order in the next section.
Why does the practice software decide what goes in the network closet?
Because cloud and server systems put the risk in different places. A cloud orthodontic PMS makes the internet line the critical circuit, so the closet needs a dependable primary line and often a backup. A server-based system makes the server, its battery backup and the local network critical, so the closet needs space, cooling and power for them.
| Closet item | Cloud PMS (for example, Cloud 9) | Server PMS or imaging database on a server (for example, Dolphin) |
|---|---|---|
| Internet line | Planet DDS: each office "requires its own dedicated connection to the Internet", with a static IP during office hours; offices on non-cable service "should consider switching to cable service" | Needed for remote access, cloud backup and updates; Dolphin's requirements say no dial-up or satellite connections |
| Bandwidth | Planet DDS gives "1 Mb/s download rate for each computer and 0.5 Mb/s upload per computer" as its minimum recommendations | Dolphin lists separate figures for the main office and for remote workstations, and for Dolphin Cloud by number of logins |
| Backup internet | "Cloud 9 recommends, but does not require, that all offices have a secondary internet service provider", and says the two "should not be using the same connection type" | Worth having for remote sites and cloud backup; Dolphin's cloud section suggests dual internet from two providers |
| Server and storage | No practice database server in the office; workstations, network gear and battery backup still need the closet | A server sized to the vendor's requirements, with space, cooling and battery backup (OrthoTrac v15.7 recommends a dedicated server and does not support Small Business Server or Windows Server Essentials); Dolphin requires backup, including offsite backup |
| Local network | A wired network for workstations; Wi-Fi for scanners and tablets | Dolphin "requires a minimum of Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps)" and "recommends 1 Gigabit (1000 Mbps)" |
| Remote access and other offices | Planet DDS says Cloud 9 "does not recommend using VPN or any third-party connection to connect to the internet" | Dolphin: "Dolphin Management must be connected via Remote Desktop Services" for remote offices, and is "not supported running through a WAN directly" |
Sources: the Cloud 9 system requirements, Dolphin's minimum requirements document (rev. 06/25) and the OrthoTrac v15.7 system requirements. The same Dolphin document warns that "a single Ring Video Camera in highest resolution can consume nearly all the upload bandwidth from a Practice", which is a good reason to settle the camera plan from row 8 of the decision table before you size the internet order.
Two practical rules follow. First, if the PMS is cloud-based, the internet order is a construction-schedule item, not a move-in task, because the carrier's lead time is outside your control. Second, if the PMS or imaging database runs on a server, the closet is drawn around that server. For OrthoTrac, size it to the recommended column: Windows Server 2022 Standard with SQL Server 2022 Express, 16 GB of RAM, 500 GB of disk and a Gigabit network card. Its listed minimum, SQL Server 2016 Express, has been past Microsoft's extended support since 14 July 2026. Our guide to dental office network setup and cabling covers the closet itself, and the cloud-versus-server guide linked in the decision table compares the orthodontic systems in depth.
What has to be decided before each construction milestone?
Plan by milestone, not by week: your contractor's schedule sets the dates. At each general construction milestone, an orthodontic office has a few extra technology tasks, and each needs a named owner. The overlay below lists only those orthodontic tasks; the general sequence of trades stays in the startup setup guide.
Orthodontic technology tasks, milestone by milestone
- 1Leasebefore signingConfirm that cable internet is available at the address (Planet DDS suggests cable for Cloud 9) and that a second carrier using a different connection type can reach the building.
- 2Drawingsschematic and designChoose the chair-row cable path (floor boxes, island cabinets or rear wall), give the architect the imaging dealer's site-prep sheets, and answer the eight decisions above.
- 3Permit waitOrder the internet line, with a static IP if the PMS needs one, order scanners and imaging units, and confirm the generation of any used scanner cart.
- 4Rough-inSet floor boxes under the bay before flooring, and check every one against the chair layout the equipment dealer has signed off.
- 5Cable pullPull cable to every chair position, including unequipped chairs, and mark access-point positions over each row and in the records room.
- 6Walls closeWalk the site with the cable schedule and check screen blocking, records-room points and consult-room points before drywall covers them.
- 7Equipment deliveryReceive imaging units, scanners, workstations and network gear; check each against the order and keep scanner carts charged and secured.
- 8InstallSet up imaging bridges, scanner Wi-Fi with WPA2 and a signal rated Excellent or Good, each scanner's cloud account set up with the scanner rep, and the PMS on every workstation.
- 9TestRun the two-part mock day in the next section and log every failure with an owner.
- 10Opening weekKeep the IT partner and the scanner and PMS vendors reachable during the first patient days, and fix the logged items in order.
- 11HandoverCollect the cable schedule, network map, passwords and account owners for internet, phones, PMS and scanners in one place the practice controls.
The owner table turns that overlay into a list for the weekly site meeting.
| Orthodontic task | Owner | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| Cable internet and a second carrier confirmed at the address | Doctor, with the IT partner | Both carriers have confirmed service in writing |
| Chair-row cable path chosen | Doctor and architect, with the equipment dealer | The method is on the drawings |
| Imaging site-prep sheets with the architect | Imaging dealer | Each unit's power, shielding and anchoring is on the drawings |
| Internet line ordered (static IP if needed) | Office manager, with the IT partner | The carrier has given an install date |
| Scanners ordered; used cart generation checked | Doctor, with the scanner rep | Order confirmed and cart generation recorded |
| Floor boxes set before flooring | General contractor and electrician | Every box matches the signed chair layout |
| Cable pulled to every chair position | Low-voltage contractor | The cable schedule lists every point, labelled |
| Access-point positions marked | IT partner | Positions are on the reflected ceiling plan |
| Pre-drywall walk | IT partner and general contractor | Every point on the schedule is found and photographed |
| Imaging bridges and scanner Wi-Fi set up | IT partner, with the imaging and scanner vendors | A test image and a test scan reach the right patient record |
| Scanner cloud accounts set up | Doctor or office manager, with the scanner rep | A test scan appears where the doctor expects it |
| Phones and numbers live | Office manager, with the phone provider | Every number rings on the new system |
| Mock day run and failures fixed | Office manager, with the IT partner | Every logged item is closed or has a date |
| Handover pack collected | Office manager | Accounts, passwords and diagrams are in the practice's own hands |
How do you test an orthodontic office before the first patient?
Run a mock day in two parts. First, a mock records appointment, with one staff member playing the patient from check-in to the consult. Then a mock full-bay hour, with every chair, scanner and phone in use at once. Log each failure with an owner and a date, and fix them before the first real patient arrives.
Part A: the mock records appointment (one person plays the patient)
- Check the "patient" in on the tablet or kiosk and confirm the record opens in the practice software at the front desk.
- Take the photo series and confirm the photos land in that patient's record, not on the desktop.
- Capture a pano and ceph and confirm both images open at a chair in the bay.
- Take an intraoral scan and watch the upload until it finishes; confirm it appears where the doctor expects to see it.
- Show the full records set on the consult-room screen.
- Sign a test contract and financing form on the signature device.
- Book the next appointment and print or send the confirmation.
- Call the main number from a mobile phone and transfer the call to the treatment coordinator.
Part B: the mock full-bay hour
- Open the patient chart at every chair at the same time and move between charts.
- Run two scanners uploading at once while the front desk takes calls.
- Stream video on the guest Wi-Fi in the parent lounge during the scans.
- Send a print job to the lab printer, if there is one.
- Pull the internet cable at the closet and note what still works at the chairs and the front desk. A cloud PMS and a server PMS behave very differently here; the cloud-versus-server guide explains what to expect.
- Restore the internet and confirm every scan, image and chart change from the outage period is where it should be.
- Switch off power to the closet briefly, if the battery backup is installed, and confirm the network stays up long enough to shut down cleanly.
If the internet test exposes a gap, our guide to what to do when the dental office internet goes down covers backup lines and front-desk workarounds.
Which orthodontic offices has Legend helped open?
Legend's project pages document orthodontic openings and build-outs across Texas and beyond. Each card below states only the scope that project's page describes. East Texas Orthodontics comes first because it shows the point of this checklist: cabling and network infrastructure going in ahead of the technology the practice will use.
East Texas Orthodontics
Legend was on site installing low-voltage cabling and network infrastructure ahead of the technology the practice will use. See the East Texas Orthodontics project.
Ray Orthodontics
Legend supported the technology setup for the new office, coordinating the systems needed for opening day. See the Ray Orthodontics project.
JP Orthodontics
From the final stages of the startup build-out to opening, with network infrastructure, workstations, servers, audio/video, security cameras, email systems and Wi-Fi. See the JP Orthodontics project.
Luv Braces
For the third Luv Braces location, Legend built the network and installed workstations, imaging and practice management software, audio/video and surveillance. See the Luv Braces project.
Tyler Orthodontics
A construction update: Legend's team on site installing the technology infrastructure. See the Tyler Orthodontics project.
Razz Orthodontics
The launch of Razz Orthodontics, with network infrastructure, technology and daily tech maintenance. See the Razz Orthodontics project.
Smile Craft Orthodontics
A startup launch, helping establish a reliable, secure technology foundation for day-one operations. See the Smile Craft Orthodontics project.
Gupta Smile Studio
The final build-out stages of Dr. Gupta's orthodontic practice, with Legend's team on site installing technology. See the Gupta Smile Studio project.
Other orthodontic practices on Legend's project pages include Karis Orthodontics in Lewisville, RH Ortho in The Colony and Sparkle Orthodontics in Alexandria, Virginia.
Hand the room sheet and the decision table to your contractor at the next site meeting. When you want a second pair of eyes on the existing plan, you can book a Free Dental IT Assessment: written findings and prioritized recommendations on your computers, software, network security, backups and performance.
What to ask your IT provider about an orthodontic build-out
Take these questions to any IT provider you are considering for the new office. Written answers make it easy to compare proposals and to hold each party to its part of the build. Each question comes with what a good answer sounds like.
Before the drawings are final
- Which chair-row cable paths do you need on the drawings, and by when? A good answer names the drawing set and the meeting, not "send it when it's done".
- How will the practice software we choose change the closet and the internet order? A good answer explains the difference between a cloud and a server system for your office.
- How will you set up Wi-Fi so scanners and parent devices don't compete? A good answer mentions the scanner vendors' own Wi-Fi rules and separate networks.
During construction
- Will you walk the site before the walls close and check every data point against the cable schedule? A good answer gives a date tied to the drywall schedule.
- Who sets up the imaging bridge between our practice software and the pano/ceph, and who calls the imaging vendor if it fails? A good answer names a person on each side.
- When should we order the internet line, and do we need a static IP or a second carrier? A good answer ties the order to the permit wait, not to move-in.
- How will you place access points over the chair row and in the records room? A good answer counts devices and checks signal at the scanner positions.
Before opening
- What will you test on the mock records day and the full-bay hour? A good answer is a written script like the one above.
- What happens at the chairs if the internet goes down on day one? A good answer describes what still works and what the front desk does.
- Who owns our internet, phone, software and scanner accounts at handover? A good answer is "you do", with the logins in your hands.
For the general questions every practice should ask before signing, see our list of 20 questions to ask before signing with a dental IT company.
What does IT cost for a new orthodontic office?
Startup IT is custom quoted, because the cost follows the office: how many chairs are in the row, how many scanners you run, what imaging sits in the records room, whether there is an in-office lab, and whether the practice software is cloud or server based. Hardware procurement, major cabling projects and software licensing are quoted separately.
Those drivers are also the questions to settle before you ask for any quote. A quote based on "an orthodontic office" with no chair count, scanner list or software choice will change once the drawings are final, so bring the decision table above. For the categories a startup IT budget covers and how to compare proposals line by line, read our guide to the dental startup IT budget.
How Legend Networking can help
An orthodontic office runs on the same network, computers and accounts from the day it opens, so it helps to know who will look after them. These are Legend Networking's own facts:
- Practices: Served over 3,500 practices since 2004
- Experience: 22+ years in dental IT (since 2004)
- Engineering team: In-house engineers; no outsourced first-level triage
- Monitoring and helpdesk: 24/7 monitoring, and a staffed 24/7 helpdesk at 1-800-794-1588
- Onsite: Onsite dispatch by appointment across served dental markets; remote-first nationwide
- Orthodontic imaging: Legend supports the IT environment for Dolphin Imaging
This guide comes from Ian Lynch, who has 22 years in dental IT and oversees the NOC, onsite dispatch and client technology roadmaps. The other orthodontic systems named on this page, such as Cloud 9, OrthoTrac, iTero, 3Shape TRIOS and Medit, are systems your practice runs; we keep the computers, network, server, backups and accounts around them working, and each vendor supports its own application. For how that support works day to day after opening, see our dental IT support for practices nationwide.
Frequently asked questions
What technology do you need to open an orthodontic office?
To open an orthodontic office you need cabled data and power for each chair in the open bay, a records room with pano/ceph and its imaging workstation, Wi-Fi planned for intraoral scanners, practice software chosen early, a network closet sized for that software, internet ordered during the permit wait, phones, cameras, and a full mock-day test before the first patient.
When should an orthodontist bring in an IT company during a build-out?
During drawings, before the architect finalizes them. The chair-row cable path, records-room points, access-point positions and closet size all go on the drawings, and changing them after the slab, flooring or drywall costs far more than changing them on paper. An IT partner who joins at move-in can only work with whatever cable and closet are already there.
Do open-bay orthodontic chairs need floor boxes?
Often, but not always. Open bays have few walls behind the chairs, so data and power come up through floor boxes, island or toe-kick cabinets, or a low rear wall. Floor boxes suit a fully open row but are hard to move once flooring is down. Choose the method during schematic design and check every box against the signed chair layout.
How many computers does an orthodontic open bay need?
It depends on your workflow and software, not on a fixed ratio. Decide whether each chair gets its own computer, two chairs share one, or a computer mounts on the delivery unit, then add scanner PCs or carts and patient-facing screens. Settle it with the doctor, office manager and equipment dealer before the drawings, because it sets every data point.
Should we wire chairs we have not equipped yet?
Yes, in most build-outs. If you plan to open with fewer chairs than the bay holds, pull cable and set floor boxes or cabinet outlets for every chair position during construction. Adding a computer and screen to a pre-wired chair later is a simple delivery, while adding cable after the floor and ceiling are finished means construction in a working office.
How does our choice of practice software change the build-out?
It decides the network closet and the internet order. A cloud orthodontic PMS makes the internet line critical; Planet DDS asks every Cloud 9 office for its own dedicated connection and a static IP. A server-based system needs closet space, cooling and battery backup for the server, and a fast wired network. Choose the software before the closet is drawn.
What should be in an orthodontic records room for technology?
A pano/ceph unit with its acquisition workstation, CBCT if the doctor wants it, a photo station that imports into the patient record, a scanner station with good Wi-Fi coverage, a records display, and wired points for each. Power and shielding come from each unit's site-prep sheet, and the imaging bridge to your practice software must be set up and tested.
What should we test before the first orthodontic patient?
Run a mock records appointment from check-in to the consult room: photos, pano/ceph, a scan upload, records on the consult screen, a signed contract and a transferred call. Then run a full-bay hour with every chair, two scanners and the phones busy, and pull the internet cable to see what still works. Log every failure with an owner.
The bottom line
If your orthodontic office is still on paper, now is the cheapest time to get the technology right. You are welcome to request a Free Dental IT Assessment, which gives written findings and prioritized recommendations on your computers, software, network security, backups and performance, or call 1-800-794-1588 to talk it through. For how Legend works with new practices, see our dental startup IT services.