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Hosting Open Dental in the Cloud: A Dublin Practice Guide

Open Dental can be hosted in the cloud two ways. The vendor runs its own hosted service, Open Dental Cloud, which it says looks and feels like the local version and handles the server, database and backups for the practice. Or the practice's IT company builds a virtual server with a cloud provider and connects the workstations to it through the vendor's Middle Tier. For a Dublin office, the deciding question is usually not the software. It is the internet line.

Last updated: November 2026

What does the vendor's hosted cloud take over?

The vendor lists what moves off the practice's plate: the service is reachable from anywhere with internet access, nightly backups are handled by the vendor, updates arrive automatically, and the practice is no longer relying on its own IT for upkeep or security of the server and database. It also says an office can switch from cloud to a local server, or back, later.

Three limits sit beside that list on the same page:

That last line is the one practices skip. The hosted cloud removes the server. It does not remove the workstations, the network they sit on, the printers, the imaging devices or the internet circuit. Those still need someone.

Is our internet good enough?

The vendor publishes its own fit test, and it is specific.

The upload number is the one that catches offices out. Many business lines are fast downloading and slow uploading, and with the database somewhere else, every chart saved and every image filed travels up the line. A second, independent line is worth pricing before the move, because when the only circuit drops, a hosted office has no schedule, while an office with a local server keeps working and only loses its online services.

What does Dublin add to that decision?

The city runs its own fiber network, Dublink, which it describes as enterprise-grade connectivity for businesses at no cost, with 100 Gbps of capacity across a 125-mile network. For an office weighing a hosted system, that is worth a look before anything is signed.

It comes with a condition the city states plainly. Dublink Transport is not an internet service provider; it connects the building to the provider the business chooses, and it depends on the building being on a Dublink route. So the order is: confirm the building is on the route, choose the internet provider, measure latency to the vendor's data centers from the office, and only then decide.

What about running our own server in the cloud?

The vendor's self-directed route puts a virtual server with a provider such as Amazon Web Services and connects the office through the Middle Tier. Its manual says this option requires the practice's IT company to set up and maintain the hosted server, and that it needs a good internet connection, a VPN, secure certificates and a cloud storage server. The vendor also notes that a static address assigned to such a server means the server must stay on, or the provider charges for the address.

The Middle Tier is what makes this workable over distance. The vendor describes it as a program that sits between the database and the workstations, so the workstations never reach the database directly, and the slow link between office and server carries one call per screen instead of many.

The trade-off is plain. The practice keeps control of where its data lives and who can reach it, but it is now running a server in a data center instead of a closet, with every duty that implies: patching, backups, access control and monitoring.

What happens to printing and imaging?

Both stay in the office. The vendor notes that its hosted cloud users cannot open the program's printer setup window, so printer behaviour on a hosted system is set up differently from a local install and is tested before go-live. Imaging software either stays on a local machine or moves to the vendor's hosting, which the vendor lists as a choice in its fit test.

Who has to tell us if the host is breached?

Any company holding a practice's data is in a position to lose it. The state breach statute requires anyone storing personal information on behalf of another to notify that party of a breach in an expeditious manner. The hosting contract should still say how fast, through whom and with what detail, because "expeditious" is not a number, and the practice's own federal duties start from what it learns.

What does the move look like?

  1. Measure the internet line from the office: download, upload and latency to the vendor's data centers, at the busiest time of day.
  2. List every integration the practice uses, and check each one against the vendor's list of compatible cloud integrations.
  3. Decide what happens to imaging: hosted alongside, or kept on a local machine.
  4. Plan the internet backup: a second line, or a cellular failover, so one outage does not stop the schedule.
  5. After the move, retire the old server properly; it still holds every chart until its drives are wiped.

A local server install is the other path, and the cloud backup page covers what a hosted system does and does not do about backups.

Questions practices ask

Is Open Dental cloud-based?

By default it runs on a server in the office. The vendor's hosted cloud is an option, and so is a self-managed virtual server; both change where the database lives, not how the program looks.

Can we go back to a local server later?

The vendor says switching between cloud and local hosting is possible in either direction. Plan it as a migration with a tested backup in hand, not as a weekend task.

Do our computers still need looking after?

Yes. The vendor is explicit that local computers reaching the cloud remain managed by the practice or its IT, and the computer requirements page covers what they need.

Is the cloud faster?

Only if the internet line is better than the office network it replaces. On a weak line, a hosted system feels slower than a local server, not faster.

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