Lucky Number 7 - What Operating System should I use with my Dental Software

As most of you have noticed we are slow to adopt new operating systems. Dental software tends to be about six months to a year behind the consumer and small business market software when it comes to being fully compatible with the latest operating systems.

That being said Windows 7 and the consumer pc market have made a switch to 64 bit operating systems. The nice thing about the new 64 bit OS is that you can utilize more hardware in the PC. Windows 32 bit systems max out at roughly 3.5 gigabytes of ram. Ram is cheap and more is always better, and the newer processors are all optimized for the new 64 bit operating systems.


You are probably saying “That’s great Clay but what does that have to do with me?”
Most practice management software is now 64 bit ready. The caveat is there may be updates that need to be done to your system to “prepare” for the latest systems. Many of you have already gone through this process but if you haven’t here is a short list: PracticeWorks needs the latest version of Pervasive and PracticeWorks Software, Dentrix needs to be G4 with Productivity pack 7 and Eaglesoft needs to be version 16. There are specific updates for all of the smaller software programs and accessories as well. The good news is that once your office is over the 64 bit hurdle, you can use the best computers for the price and protect your investment by assuring your computers do not become obsolete before their time!