Schein Sets Out to Reassure Exact Users
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- Published: Tuesday, 25 November 2025 08:41
- Written by Peter Ingle
- Hits: 1235
Like most emerging markets, dental software initially saw a plethora of small companies competing with a wide range of products. As the market matured through take overs and mergers, as well as seeing stragglers drop out, EXACT emerged as one of the key players.
Starting in New Zealand in 1989, landmarks have included becoming UK market leader in 2009 and becoming part of Henry Schein in 2007.
All of which may leave dentists surprised by the company’s recent email to its Welsh users. In it, Schein’s UK Executive Director informed users that EXACT will not be updated to support the April 2026 NHS Wales reforms.
The reforms he explained, were the most significant changes to NHS dentistry in twenty years, and will necessitate major updates to all of the dental software systems used by NHS practices in Wales. Based on the scale of the changes, and the short time until the April 2026 deadline, the required updates could not be delivered safely within EXACT. As a result Schein will focus their development efforts on Dentally, the other dental practice management system in their portfolio.
The email set out the events that had led to this decision. As a member of the Dental Software Suppliers Association (DSSA), Schein had been working closely with the Welsh Government and NHS Wales for many months to understand the scope of the changes and the timeline for implementation. Concerned about the lack of progress, the DSSA had recently sent a formal letter to the Welsh Government highlighting that suppliers have still not received the full technical specification. This left less than the six months that is normally required to design, build, test and deploy, compliant updates.
To continue managing NHS contracts in Wales beyond that date, practices using EXACT will need to upgrade to Dentally. Cloud based Dentally is the leading practice management platform of that type across both Wales and the wider UK, with an NHS Wales practice being its first ever customer.
Schein UK Executive Director, James Harker, went on to pledge Schein’s support to practices through every stage of the move, including transferring data from EXACT to Dentally, as well as clear guidance and training for practice teams.
GDPUK asked Schein if the Welsh government had been approached to support the costs of writing the required updates, whether there would be a guaranteed support period for those that will be switching to Dentally, and what users of Exact in other smaller markets should take from this announcement.
In her reply, Marketing Director Clare Levy added little to the original email from James Harker, reiterating the reasons for the decision. She concluded her comments saying that Schein were: “fully committed to supporting all of our customers through every stage of the move, including transferring their data from EXACT to Dentally. We provide clear guidance and training so each user feels confident using Dentally from day one, and our support will be ongoing. Our team are in the process of meeting with all our customers impacted by this."
Image Credit Steve Van Russelt
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