Dental clinic software in Iraq and Kurdistan — how to choose

In short

For clinics in Iraq and Kurdistan, three things matter more than any feature list: a Kurdish or Arabic interface, WhatsApp reminders rather than SMS, and on-site support in your own language. Most software sold into the Arabic market offers none of the three.

Why generic software doesn't fit Iraq

Most dental practice software sold in Arabic was built for the Egyptian and Gulf markets. It carries three assumptions that don't hold in Iraq: that patients read SMS, that staff are comfortable in English or formal Arabic, and that phone support from another country is enough.

In practice, an Iraqi patient doesn't open SMS but reads WhatsApp immediately. A receptionist in Erbil or Sulaymaniyah works in Kurdish, not formal Arabic. And when something breaks, someone needs to be able to come and look at it.

Five questions to ask before buying

These five tell you more than any feature list whether the software fits your clinic:

  • What languages is the interface in, and is the text written or machine-translated? Open a page and read it.
  • How do appointment reminders go out — SMS or WhatsApp? And what does each message cost?
  • What does it cost per year, in what currency? Are there hidden charges for installation, training, or each extra user?
  • If you wanted to take everything and leave tomorrow, how do you get your data out? An Excel export, or only PDFs?
  • What language is support in, and where is it based? Can anyone come in person?

Where Dr Dental IQ fits

Dr Dental IQ was built in Erbil, for this market. The interface is fully available in Kurdish Sorani, Arabic, English and Persian. Reminders go out over WhatsApp. The Basic plan is $449 a year, and on-site installation and training in the Kurdistan Region are free.

What it doesn't do, stated plainly: it doesn't integrate with Iraqi state insurance systems, and if your clinic has more than ten chairs you'll likely need the enterprise plan and a separate conversation. It was built for one to six chair clinics and for laboratories.

Try Dr Dental IQ free for 14 days

Every feature, no credit card. On-site installation and training in the Kurdistan Region are free.

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More guides

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Dental clinic software in Iraq and Kurdistan — how to choose — Dr Dental IQ