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Dental Supplier Guide Supplier guide for dental practices

Type a supplier, a system or a topic.

    Setting up a dental practice

    The question this page answers Which systems and suppliers does a new, acquired or refurbished private or mixed NHS and private dental practice in the UK need to choose, in what order, and which registrations, contracts and approvals have to be in place before the first patient?

    Page last reviewed

    This page is for you if you are setting up a dental practice from scratch, taking over a practice, or refurbishing one and changing systems. It shows which choices the practice has to make and an order that makes them easier. Each category has its own page, where suppliers are compared on the same criteria. The page gives no legal advice: registrations and rules are described only where an official source has been read, and anything else is for you to check with the authorities and your advisers. This is not an exhaustive overview.

    The order of system choices

    The order below is a suggestion, not a requirement. Most systems a practice buys are compared in the guide on whether they work with the practice management software, so choosing that first tells you what to ask the other suppliers.

    1. Registrations, contracts and company set-up. See the section below.
    2. Practice management software. The choice affects how NHS claims are sent, how mixed NHS and private work is handled, and which other systems can connect. See dental practice management software.
    3. IT and information security. The IT support you need depends on whether the practice software runs in the cloud or on a server in the practice. See the comparison further down.
    4. Equipment, servicing and finance. Chairs, X-ray, scanners, decontamination and servicing. See equipment, servicing and finance, dental chairs and intraoral scanners.
    5. Consumables, implants, aligners and laboratory work. See dental suppliers, implant systems, clear aligners and dental laboratories.
    6. Accounting and payments. See accounting and payments, including Making Tax Digital.
    7. Booking and patient contact. See online booking, AI receptionists and phone systems and patient communication.
    8. Website and marketing. Ask the supplier who owns the domain, the website and the advertising accounts, what you keep if you leave, and how online booking connects to your practice software.

    When you change systems

    Ask your practice software vendor how you get your data out before you sign anything new. The practice management software page shows what each vendor publishes about data export and conversion.

    Registrations and rules with an official source

    Only the points below have been read in an official source. NHS contracts, X-ray and radiation rules, decontamination, the Data Security and Protection Toolkit and the rules in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have not been read yet, so nothing is said about them here.

    Care Quality Commission (England)

    • When a provider registers with the CQC, it must identify in its statement of purpose each location where it proposes to carry on a regulated activity. The premises where a primary care provider, for example a dental provider, carries on regulated activity count as a location. What is a location? - Care Quality Commission (Care Quality Commission (CQC))1

    NHS claims

    • A practice that usually submits its NHS claims from EDI software in its practice system can also submit FP17 forms through NHSBSA’s Compass. Can I submit an FP17 claim through Compass even though I usually submit my claims by an EDI software system? (NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA))2 Which nations each practice management system covers is shown on the practice management software page.

    Company form and your website

    • A sole trader is personally responsible for all of the debts of the business. A limited company is legally separate from the people who own it, and its owners are responsible for its debts only up to the value of their financial investment. Set up a business - GOV.UK (GOV.UK)3
    • In a partnership, you and your partner or partners personally share responsibility for the business. There are different rules for limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships (LLPs). Set up a business partnership: Setting up - GOV.UK (GOV.UK)4
    • A company’s business letters, order forms and websites must show the part of the United Kingdom in which it is registered, its registered number and the address of its registered office. The Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015 (legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives))5

    Data protection

    • Under the Data Protection (Charges and Information) Regulations 2018, organisations, including sole traders, that use personal information need to pay a data protection fee to the ICO, unless they are exempt. Data protection fee | ICO (Information Commissioner's Office (ICO))6
    • Under the Data Protection Act 2018, a controller must facilitate complaints about how it handles personal data, for example with a complaint form that can be completed electronically and by other means, and must acknowledge a complaint within 30 days. Data Protection Act 2018 (legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives))7
    • The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations apply to unsolicited marketing sent by electronic mail to individual subscribers. The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives))8 See patient communication for how tools record consent.

    Tax

    • All VAT-registered businesses should now be signed up for Making Tax Digital for VAT, and compatible software is needed to keep VAT records and file VAT returns. Find software that's compatible with Making Tax Digital for VAT - GOV.UK (HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC))9
    • Making Tax Digital for Income Tax starts by qualifying income: from 6 April 2026 with income over £50,000 for 2024 to 2025, from 6 April 2027 over £30,000 for 2025 to 2026, and from 6 April 2028 over £20,000 for 2026 to 2027. Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax - GOV.UK (HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC))10

    IT support

    The comparison below shows providers of ongoing IT support for dental practices in the UK, on the same criteria: which practice management software they state they run or support, on-site and remote support, stated response times and support hours, NHS and CQC-related IT set-up, backup and information security, and minimum term. The table shows each fact with its source and the date it was checked. Where a provider publishes nothing on a point, the table says so. Many small IT providers are sole traders and are not listed for that reason. This is not an exhaustive list.

    How the suppliers are assessed

    Criteria version 2.5, 20 October 2026. The same criteria for all offerings of the same type; each type has its own table.

    • Practice management software the provider states it runs or supports
    • On-site and remote support
    • Stated response time and support hours
    • Minimum term and cancellation
    • NHS and CQC-related IT set-up for the practice
    • Backup, data processing agreement and information security

    Who is included: The overview lists the choices a new, acquired or refurbished dental practice in the United Kingdom makes, with links to the category pages; registrations and contracts are described only with an official source. The IT support comparison includes IT providers with a documented offer to dental practices in the UK (support for UK practice management software, NHS-related IT set-up, or dentistry named in public material), with public service information. General IT providers with no documented dental offer are not included. Regional coverage is stated in the on-site support value as the source states it. Only companies are listed: limited companies (Ltd), PLCs, CICs and other companies, including foreign companies and their UK subsidiaries or branches, and LLPs with a neutral brand name. Sole traders (also when trading as a brand), ordinary and Scottish partnerships, limited partnerships, LLPs with a person's name and companies carrying a person's full name are excluded without being named. The company form and company number are read only from the supplier's own footer, terms or privacy page; a supplier that states neither there is excluded without being named, and no people are recorded for included companies. Many small IT providers are sole traders and are then excluded. Not included: compliance software for CQC documentation, and website and marketing services (not published in the UK edition).

    This is not an exhaustive overview. See the search frame, the sources searched and known gaps.

    IT support

    Sorted by the number of published facts, not by quality. Alphabetical order is one click away. This is not an exhaustive overview.

    Setting up a dental practice
    Supplier and offering Practice management software the provider states it runs or supportsOn-site and remote supportStated response time and support hoursMinimum term and cancellationNHS and CQC-related IT set-up for the practiceBackup, data processing agreement and information security Price Last checked
    Sound Networks Dental practice IT support 6 of 8 facts published Sound Networks (SW) Ltd (United Kingdom) service partner soundnetworks.net The provider says it supports whichever practice management software the practice runs, keeping it backed up and updated; specialist support for the software usually comes from its authors, and the provider can deal with them on the practice's behalf11Provided by the vendorRemote support plus on-site support for all surgeries, from the provider's base in Melksham12Provided by the vendorThe provider guarantees an on-site engineer response time of under 30 minutes for business-critical emergencies across the local commercial zones in Melksham13Provided by the vendorNot found in public sourcesNot found in public sources (searched 19 October 2026)For a practice with an NHS contract, the provider says it can support work towards Data Security and Protection Toolkit requirements and towards Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certification14Provided by the vendorProtection layers listed: MFA, EDR on every computer, email security, encrypted immutable backups with monitoring and testing, patch management and support towards Cyber Essentials certification15Provided by the vendor £50 per user per month VAT not stated16 Last checked
    Dental IT IT support for dental practices 5 of 8 facts published Dental IT Ltd (United Kingdom) service partner www.dentalit.ltd.uk The provider says it has practices using, and is familiar with, SOE Exact, Dentally, Dental Plus, Software for Dentists (SfD), Carestream R4, Pearl and Orthotrac, but does not support the software itself operationally17Provided by the vendorWhen a switch or server fails, the provider says it guarantees to be on site the same day with replacement equipment, and it can supply loan PCs and servers18Provided by the vendorHelpdesk from 7am to 7pm, with Saturday and out-of-hours emergency cover19Provided by the vendorNot found in public sourcesNot found in public sources (searched 19 October 2026)The provider says it guides practices through the NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit requirements, helps implement its controls and assists with the submission20Provided by the vendorImage-based local backup of the whole server plus cloud backup as the off-site copy, with immutable (object lock) backups21Provided by the vendor Base price: no public price found as of 19 October 202622 Last checked
    Global 4 Managed IT for dental practices 4 of 8 facts published Global 4 Communications Ltd (United Kingdom) service partner www.global4.co.uk Not found in public sourcesNot found in public sources (searched 19 October 2026)Under the provider's standard terms, IT support services may be delivered remotely or on-site at the provider's discretion, unless the order form specifies otherwise23Provided by the vendorSupport team Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, excluding UK public holidays; 24/7 out-of-hours support is part of an extended support contract; the IT support table lists P1 incidents at 1 hour and 8 hours (working hours)24Provided by the vendorThe standard terms for businesses with 10 or fewer employees list IT support services among the services that renew automatically for an extended term, and early termination charges apply during the minimum term and any extended term25Provided by the vendorNot found in public sourcesNot found in public sources (searched 19 October 2026)The provider lists EDR and MDR, phishing simulation and email security, and Microsoft 365 security and backup26Provided by the vendor Base price: no public price found as of 19 October 202627 Last checked
    Systemagic IT support for dentists 4 of 8 facts published Systemagic Ltd (United Kingdom) service partner systemagic.co.uk Not found in public sourcesNot found in public sources (searched 19 October 2026)The provider's business IT support page says its remote support agreement includes unlimited telephone and remote support within normal business hours, and that unavoidable on-site visits are an additional cost28Provided by the vendorThe provider states an average response time of 25 minutes29Provided by the vendorIT support is provided on rolling monthly contracts30Provided by the vendorNot found in public sourcesNot found in public sources (searched 19 October 2026)Layered cybersecurity (antivirus, web filtering, phishing prevention, awareness training) and backup and data recovery services; the provider says it has achieved Cyber Essentials and CE+31Provided by the vendor Base price: no public price found as of 19 October 202632 Last checked
    AMAS IT IT support for dental practices in Scotland 2 of 8 facts published AMAS IT Limited (United Kingdom) service partner amasit.co.uk Not found in public sourcesNot found in public sources (searched 19 October 2026)The provider says it supplies, installs and configures hardware and offers cabling and wi-fi installation33Provided by the vendorNot found in public sourcesNot found in public sources (searched 19 October 2026)Not found in public sourcesNot found in public sources (searched 19 October 2026)Not found in public sourcesNot found in public sources (searched 19 October 2026)The provider lists cybersecurity solutions and data backup and recovery among its IT support services, and says it has a Disaster Recovery Strategy in place for data recovery after a ransomware attack34Provided by the vendor Base price: no public price found as of 19 October 202635 Last checked

    Questions to ask before you ask for a quote

    • Who is responsible when the link between your practice software, X-ray and imaging, and NHS systems stops working: the software vendor or the IT provider?
    • Does the provider set up NHS-related IT, such as NHS email and network access, and what does it give you for your Data Security and Protection Toolkit and CQC inspections?
    • Who gets access to patient data, and what does the data processing agreement say?
    • Where are the backups kept, how often are they tested, and how long does a restore take?
    • What is included in the fixed price, and what is charged by the hour, per visit or as travel?

    Sources

    Numbered by first appearance on the page. The date is when the source was last checked.

    1. What is a location? - Care Quality Commission, Care Quality Commission (CQC). Checked 19 October 2026. Official sourceConfirmed in the source
    2. Can I submit an FP17 claim through Compass even though I usually submit my claims by an EDI software system?, NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). Checked 19 October 2026. Official sourceConfirmed in the source
    3. Set up a business - GOV.UK, GOV.UK. Checked 19 October 2026. Official sourceConfirmed in the source
    4. Set up a business partnership: Setting up - GOV.UK, GOV.UK. Checked 19 October 2026. Official sourceConfirmed in the source
    5. The Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015, legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives). Checked 19 October 2026. Official sourceConfirmed in the source
    6. Data protection fee | ICO, Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). Checked 19 October 2026. Official sourceConfirmed in the source
    7. Data Protection Act 2018, legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives). Checked 19 October 2026. Official sourceConfirmed in the source
    8. The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives). Checked 19 October 2026. Official sourceConfirmed in the source
    9. Find software that's compatible with Making Tax Digital for VAT - GOV.UK, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Checked 19 October 2026. Official sourceConfirmed in the source
    10. Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax - GOV.UK, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Checked 19 October 2026. Official sourceConfirmed in the source
    11. Dental Practice IT Support | Managed IT for Dental Practices (soundnetworks.net). Checked 19 October 2026. Provided by the vendorConfirmed in the source
    12. Dental Practice IT Support | Managed IT for Dental Practices (soundnetworks.net). Checked 19 October 2026. Provided by the vendorConfirmed in the source
    13. Managed IT support in Melksham (soundnetworks.net). Checked 19 October 2026. Provided by the vendorConfirmed in the source
    14. Dental Practice IT Support | Managed IT for Dental Practices (soundnetworks.net). Checked 19 October 2026. Provided by the vendorConfirmed in the source
    15. Dental Practice IT Support | Managed IT for Dental Practices (soundnetworks.net). Checked 19 October 2026. Provided by the vendorConfirmed in the source
    16. Price information (soundnetworks.net). Checked 19 October 2026. Confirmed in the source
    17. DPMS Integration | Dental IT (dentalit.ltd.uk). Checked 19 October 2026. Provided by the vendorConfirmed in the source
    18. Disaster Recovery for Dentists | Dental IT (dentalit.ltd.uk). Checked 19 October 2026. Provided by the vendorConfirmed in the source
    19. IT Support Services for Dental Practices | Dental IT (dentalit.ltd.uk). Checked 19 October 2026. Provided by the vendorConfirmed in the source
    20. Compliance Advice for Dental Practices | Dental IT (dentalit.ltd.uk). Checked 19 October 2026. Provided by the vendorConfirmed in the source
    21. Back Up Systems for Dental Practices | Dental IT (dentalit.ltd.uk). Checked 19 October 2026. Provided by the vendorConfirmed in the source
    22. Base price: no public price found as of 19 October 2026. Searched: Home page, IT services overview, Helpdesk page, Squat practice set-up page, IT installations page, Monitoring page, Cloud services page. Read with excerpt --all: https://www.dentalit.ltd.uk/ (35a64240a89c7a0631215a866edc263cf0b3bbc7ba989fab94001af3d9001eb4), https://www.dentalit.ltd.uk/services-it-support-for-dental-practices/ (69165c6b61890111890fa8a3f515bb2587c43f9e8f28694bf6a568c76bfc68b7), https://www.dentalit.ltd.uk/helpdesk-it-support-for-dental-practices/ (f5bc55bbca67f5f0694ca2586adb798de27f718226e7bbbc61dc53b4a6034aab), https://www.dentalit.ltd.uk/it-services-for-squat-practice-set-up/ (14f1256530a20554d5a2521100e56d96fd74443ab85455d209b5a47174c2c352), https://www.dentalit.ltd.uk/it-installations-it-support-for-dental-practices/ (bdff2d85b81d70459b1c1b66cf4fb056320956d35e8677d8d2843769e6c2b286), https://www.dentalit.ltd.uk/monitoring-it-support-for-dental-practices/ (0a598d096e319886e7c91002c99348fc4ab756d71a30fe5ae6d00c4b72e8cfe7), https://www.dentalit.ltd.uk/cloud-services-it-support-for-dental-practices/ (d0f7d72e6051823ca199f368b20b6ee3c25baf68370c40a36185b6fd8e037f02); no price for IT support or managed IT on these pages; the only amount is for VoIP phone systems (from £16 + VAT per extension per month), which is a separate phone offering; the network audit is described as free of charge Search repeated 19 October 2026: dentalit.ltd.uk/, dentalit.ltd.uk/services-it-support-for-dental-practices/, dentalit.ltd.uk/helpdesk-it-support-for-dental-practices/, dentalit.ltd.uk/it-services-for-squat-practice-set-up/, dentalit.ltd.uk/it-installations-it-support-for-dental-practices/, dentalit.ltd.uk/monitoring-it-support-for-dental-practices/, dentalit.ltd.uk/cloud-services-it-support-for-dental-practices/, dentalit.ltd.uk/dpms-intergration-it-support-for-dental-practices/, dentalit.ltd.uk/disaster-recovery-it-support-for-dental-practices/, dentalit.ltd.uk/compliance-it-support-for-dental-practices/, dentalit.ltd.uk/back-up-systems-for-dental-practices/.
    23. Global 4 Standard Terms and Conditions, micro, small and not-for-profit businesses (PDF) (global4.co.uk). Checked 19 October 2026. Provided by the vendorConfirmed in the source
    24. Global 4 Service SLAs (PDF) (global4.co.uk). Checked 19 October 2026. Provided by the vendorConfirmed in the source
    25. Global 4 Standard Terms and Conditions, micro, small and not-for-profit businesses (PDF) (global4.co.uk). Checked 19 October 2026. Provided by the vendorConfirmed in the source
    26. IT Support & Phone Systems for Dentists (global4.co.uk). Checked 19 October 2026. Provided by the vendorConfirmed in the source
    27. Base price: no public price found as of 19 October 2026. Searched: Home page, Dentistry page, Dental IT guide, Terms page, Service SLAs (PDF), Standard terms, small businesses (PDF). Read with excerpt --all: https://www.global4.co.uk/ (e12959733b6c57d6ca0f98ae10dbee642f5fbf13b288312815b864e52d584247), https://www.global4.co.uk/industries/dentistry/ (39ff5bb21c969f26047528065af46654eb3c98e0d597275b0bbdc46316b249ac), https://www.global4.co.uk/news/complete-guide-to-it-support-for-dental-practices-in-the-uk/ (8682e1df915d3f385cb70b51ba6959236396a005f25a3b07df1e4b4bc39cebab), https://www.global4.co.uk/terms/ (431a5770e464756c7bc23a720b4bcdf665e835a9f7c19a7493d43dbe5d4e660f), https://www.global4.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Global-4-Service-SLAs.pdf (e10e531cc2102c32a95f5330160ee629ae1f00421f54c7224e13e41be56349ff), https://www.global4.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Standard-Terms-and-Conditions-Micro-Small-and-Not-For-Profit-Businesses.pdf (f98b1e9ba10f8d5798a7892f0e76fb27ff37e28d5291dbf3bd203877264c71bf); the guide says most providers price per user or per device without giving an amount for this provider; the SLA document says out-of-hours use without an extended support contract is charged at an hourly rate, with no amount Search repeated 19 October 2026: global4.co.uk/, global4.co.uk/industries/dentistry/, global4.co.uk/news/complete-guide-to-it-support-for-dental-practices-in-the-uk/, global4.co.uk/terms/, global4.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Global-4-Service-SLAs.pdf, global4.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Standard-Terms-and-Conditions-Micro-Small-and-Not-For-Profit-Businesses.pdf, global4.co.uk/services/managed-it-services/, global4.co.uk/services/managed-it-services/plans/.
    28. Business IT Support - Risk-Free Rolling Contracts - Systemagic (systemagic.co.uk). Checked 19 October 2026. Provided by the vendorConfirmed in the source
    29. IT Support for Dentists - Systemagic - No Long-Term Contracts (systemagic.co.uk). Checked 19 October 2026. Provided by the vendorConfirmed in the source
    30. IT Support for Dentists - Systemagic - No Long-Term Contracts (systemagic.co.uk). Checked 19 October 2026. Provided by the vendorConfirmed in the source
    31. IT Support for Dentists - Systemagic - No Long-Term Contracts (systemagic.co.uk). Checked 19 October 2026. Provided by the vendorConfirmed in the source
    32. Base price: no public price found as of 19 October 2026. Searched: Home page, IT support for dentists page. Read with excerpt --all: https://systemagic.co.uk/ (c52969fc412f7f82f40b4f0e020910295a6987e3dd02d3574eb1eb142eb343c1), https://systemagic.co.uk/services/it-support-for-dentists/ (a2ca4344f4190523828adac17b022577fabab2fab03bead19426e3cab1f8785a); the dentists page was captured as static HTML (render static) Search repeated 19 October 2026: systemagic.co.uk/, systemagic.co.uk/services/it-support-for-dentists/, systemagic.co.uk/services/helpdesk-support/, systemagic.co.uk/remote-support-session/, systemagic.co.uk/switching-it-provider-systemagic-switching-service/.
    33. Dental Practice Support | IT Support For Dentists Scotland (amasit.co.uk). Checked 19 October 2026. Provided by the vendorConfirmed in the source
    34. Dental IT Support - AMAS IT (amasit.co.uk). Checked 19 October 2026. Provided by the vendorConfirmed in the source
    35. Base price: no public price found as of 19 October 2026. Searched: Dental home page, Dental IT services page, Dental cyber security page, Dental remote support page, Articles page, Terms page. Read with excerpt --all: https://amasit.co.uk/dental-home/ (01f9717607346ca092a4f9c189e79fa5f5d5821b5709fb69d0122d435b4eb9e2), https://amasit.co.uk/dental-it-services/ (eae505deea8f5514d10a6070b20a30037d51d071edb5af65484b8673580e7c88), https://amasit.co.uk/dental-cyber-security/ (12a12c459d5af4fcbeb34aaa4669889b20b0c0feba26f52fa9caf2dff44682cf), https://amasit.co.uk/dental-remote-support/ (3fb4297c6ada8b0bc434aa047a8c53ed78b40c94e8ace7d94aca8afad06f6d79), https://amasit.co.uk/articles/ (51806b23c57c5fdc422c4084365e69a91333555fa36e93bf48227c20913ee4db), https://amasit.co.uk/terms/ (c452a851a1ae1f11641f4975278f4506061bdf833ff6ab8ab961840dced4e716); the dental IT services and cyber security pages gave almost no readable text in the excerpt Search repeated 19 October 2026: amasit.co.uk/dental-home/, amasit.co.uk/dental-it-services/, amasit.co.uk/dental-cyber-security/, amasit.co.uk/dental-remote-support/, amasit.co.uk/articles/, amasit.co.uk/terms/, amasit.co.uk/dental-it-support/, amasit.co.uk/dental-hardware-services/.