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Answers to the most common questions about help desk support, physical installs, security, and working with a dedicated dental IT team.
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Getting Started
Help Desk & Support
Physical Installs & Cabling
Security & Patient Data
Service Area & Response Times
What makes Lariat IT different from a general IT company?
We only work with dental practices. A general IT provider splits their attention across law firms, retail shops, and everyone else on their client list. Lariat IT is built specifically around how a dental practice runs — imaging systems, practice management software, VoIP, and patient records that all have to work together every day.
Why does a dental practice need a dedicated IT department instead of one IT guy?
A single IT generalist can't realistically stay on top of imaging integrations, practice management software, VoIP, and network security all at once — especially while also supporting other industries. Lariat IT gives your practice the depth and coverage of a full IT department, focused entirely on dental IT.
How long has Lariat IT been supporting dental practices?
12 years, working specifically with how dental offices run day to day.
What dental practice management software do you support?
We support all major dental practice management software, including Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Open Dental, and Curve, among others.
How do I get started with Lariat IT?
Reach out through our Contact page, by phone, or by email, and we'll talk through what your practice needs — whether that's ongoing help desk support, a physical install, or a bigger tech project.
What kind of help desk support do you provide?
Workstation and printer troubleshooting, software issues and user support, and remote support with on-site visits when needed.
How fast can I expect a response when something breaks?
We're available 24/7, with same-day support for emergencies. If you're under a service contract, we begin support within the hour — often immediately.
Do you offer remote support, or do you have to come on-site?
Remote support first for quick fixes, with on-site visits when the issue needs hands-on attention.
What if my imaging system or practice management software stops working?
That's exactly what our help desk covers. We support all major dental practice management software, including Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Open Dental, and Curve.
What are your support hours?
We're open 24/7. Emergencies get same-day support, and practices under a service contract can expect response within the hour — often immediate.
Do you handle network cabling for new or renovated dental offices?
Yes — structured network cabling for new or renovated offices is one of our core services.
Can you set up Wi-Fi across multiple operatories?
Yes, we handle Wi-Fi design and installation across multiple operatories.
Do you install VoIP phone systems?
Yes, VoIP phone system setup is part of our physical installs and cabling work.
Do you handle equipment setup like workstations, printers, and imaging equipment?
Yes — workstations, printers, and imaging equipment networking are all part of our hardware setup services.
Why professionally installed cabling instead of just relying on Wi-Fi?
Wi-Fi can struggle when too many devices compete for signal. A professionally installed Ethernet line bypasses that congestion, giving a direct, stable connection for imaging equipment, VoIP phones, and everyday work.
Do you handle things like security camera wiring or equipment mounting, or only network cabling?
Yes — we handle security camera installation and equipment mounting in addition to network cabling.
How do you help keep patient data secure?
Security is its own dedicated service at Lariat IT, built around what actually puts dental practices at risk. That includes multi-factor authentication, managed endpoint protection, encrypted backups and disaster recovery, email and phishing protection, network segmentation, patch management, and more — see our Services page for the full list.
Are you familiar with HIPAA requirements for dental practices?
Yes — as a vendor supporting dental practices, we build our security services around HIPAA's Security Rule requirements, and we're happy to sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) as part of onboarding.
Do you sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA)?
Yes — we sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with every dental practice we support. It's a standard part of onboarding, and it formalizes our responsibility to protect patient data in line with HIPAA.
What happens to our data if there's an outage or a disaster?
We run encrypted backups and disaster recovery as part of our security service. If an outage, hardware failure, or ransomware attack ever takes your systems down, you can recover your data instead of losing it or paying a ransom.
Who can access our systems when you provide remote support?
Only the technician working on your request accesses your systems, using their own named login — we don't use shared or generic credentials. Remote access requires multi-factor authentication, every session is logged, and access is revoked immediately for any team member who leaves.
What areas do you serve?
We're based in and service most of Southern California, with coverage across California, Oregon, and Eastern Washington.
Do you offer on-site visits, or is everything remote?
Both — we provide on-site support across our service area, plus remote help desk support for quick fixes wherever you are.
How quickly can someone respond to an emergency?
We're available 24/7, with same-day support for emergencies. If you're under a service contract, we begin support within the hour — often immediately.
What counts as an emergency versus a routine request?
An emergency is anything that's costing you money or keeping your practice from operating — your network or server is down, imaging or practice management software is unreachable, phones are out, or a whole operatory can't see patients. Those get same-day support, and if you're under a service contract, response begins within the hour — often immediately. A routine request, like a single slow workstation or a printer issue, gets handled fast too, just without the same urgency.
Do you support multi-location dental practices?
Yes — we support multi-location dental practices, coordinating technology across every site in your practice.
How do I reach you?
Call us at (323) 364-0816 or email contactus@lariatit.com — we're available 24/7.
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