Case Study
Memphis-Area Dental Practice: Imaging Outage Fixed, Vendor Call Handled
Managed IT services for a Memphis-area dental practice: Netcosa sorted out a Dexis imaging outage by calling the vendor, then flagged a Dentrix update ahead of time.
Client: Memphis-Area Dental Practice
A dental practice in the Memphis metro area relies on Netcosa for managed IT services, including support for Dentrix, its practice management software, and Dexis, its imaging software. Joe Pennel, President of Netcosa, says a lot of IT providers answer software problems with “It’s not my problem. Call your vendor.” Joe’s approach is the opposite.
- A doctor at a Memphis-area dental practice texted Joe that they couldn’t get images, and Joe took the problem himself instead of sending them to Dexis
- The cause was not what Joe first assumed, so he called Dexis directly and got it sorted out
- Dexis also flagged an upcoming Dentrix imaging-module replacement, and Joe told the practice ahead of time: 2 minutes per computer
- Repeating Dentrix problems like DDX Desktop get the same handling, even when a vendor code fix can take 12 to 16 months (Joe’s estimate)
Challenge: A Dexis Imaging Outage
In March 2026, a doctor at the practice texted Joe that they couldn’t get images.
Joe didn’t want to tell the doctor to call Dexis and say it wasn’t Netcosa’s problem. He took the problem himself.
His first read of the cause was wrong. “[I] kind of knew exactly what it was when I got in there, but it wasn’t what I thought it was.” That meant a call to Dexis.
Does your IT provider make the vendor call, or hand you the number? Netcosa makes it. Schedule your free assessment or call (901) 306-7575.
Response: Take the Problem, Then Call the Vendor
Joe called Dexis himself and, in his words, “we got it sorted out.”
Dexis then flagged something else: updates were coming for Dentrix to replace the imaging module inside Dentrix, which meant every computer at the practice would need the new software. Joe passed that along to the practice proactively.
“Two minutes per computer, no big deal. But … I communicate that … I want to manage that vendor relationship.”
— Joe Pennel, President, Netcosa
Joe’s reasoning comes down to time. A practice that calls Dentrix on its own, he says, is “going to be on the phone for hours.” His own call “could be just a really quick call for me.”
He says this is not special treatment for one practice: “I do that for everybody.” Repeating Dentrix problems get the same handling. Here is a general example Joe described in March 2026:
- Every Dentrix update automatically installs a second application called DDX Desktop
- For practices that don’t use it, it breaks navigation inside patient charts. Users can’t flip to a patient’s chart because, in Joe’s words, “DDX keeps trying to put itself into the workflow”
- It gets removed each time it reappears
- Joe puts in a request with the vendor asking that it stop installing automatically with Dentrix updates
- Once a vendor has a fix, Joe is “on the ticket” and gets responses as it moves forward, though he says vendor follow-up is “pretty rare”
- Joe’s estimate for a vendor code change like this is 12 to 16 months, “because it’s a big coding project”
Outcome: Outage Sorted Out, Update Flagged Ahead of Time
Joe’s call to Dexis sorted out the imaging outage. Joe passed along the Dentrix imaging-module update proactively, rather than waiting for the practice to call him about it. The one number he attached to that update was two minutes per computer.
2 minutes
Per computer to apply the Dentrix imaging-module update, according to Joe
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Time to apply the imaging-module update | 2 minutes per computer |
This is not a dramatic rebuild. It is a text from a doctor, a call to Dexis, and a heads-up about an update. It shows where Netcosa puts the vendor work: with Joe, not with the practice.
That is what managed IT services from Netcosa look like when a vendor is involved. The practice texts Joe, and Joe makes the call.
Tired of being told to call your vendor? Talk to Netcosa about dental practice IT support.
Services: Managed IT Services
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