CAD SOFTWARE – WHAT’S THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR YOU AND YOUR LAB? BY ASHLEY BYRNE, BYRNES DENTAL LAB Leave a comment

Computer aided design, or CAD for short, dominates manufacturing and design industries and dental is no exception. These days it is routine for crown and bridge and ortho labs to be using CAD and now it’s creeping into prosthetics. It won’t be long before every lab needs and uses CAD, but which system is best for you and how do you choose?
There are major dental players – like exocad, 3Shape, Dental Wings from Straumann, and InLab from Dentsply – but there are also many smaller company CAD systems, derivatives of exocad and even non-dental CAD software, that can be modified for the dental lab. With over 20 known CAD software systems ranging from free to the thousands of pounds, choosing software can be a risky business.
At Byrnes we run exocad, 3Shape Dental System, Dental Wings and InLab but we do find that 3Shape and particularly exocad works best for our business and the team. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily right for you or your lab though. Debating what is the best system on the market is like debating mobiles – if you own an Apple or Samsung, you would swear it was best. Both do the same job and yet people can be passionate about their choice because they’re invested in it (and I’m not just talking the financials). Sadly it is just not that simple! You also need to be aware of the ‘clubs’ phenomena. If you own a BMW, it’s better than a Mercedes and vice versa – most of those people do not own both makes of car, they’re usually staunchly one or the other, so are they really able to give you an unbiased opinion? It is human nature for people to want to get you to buy the same car as them, they want you in their club. It’s not malicious in anyway, but we naturally want people to have the same as what we have.
Choosing CAD for your lab comes down to multiple factors like ease of use, ease of training, functionality, price, annual running and upgrade costs, and the ability to customise your software modules specifically to your lab. I would always advise to try and put price to the back of your mind. Cheap (and often free) software can be used but you often find that ‘expensive’ software can save you time, and time is an area that we often do not cost into our businesses. We use 3Shape and exocad at our lab and they are without a doubt, the two most costly systems, yet they are fast, easy to use, and we can push units through rapidly, thus saving all of us time. If you are new to CAD then learning and support is key, and that is also a huge factor in choosing the system. To add even more complications to that, some of the big systems like Dental Wings is supported by Straumann, and InLab is supported by Dentsply Sirona, so it’s a simple one point buy and support. exocad and 3Shape are sold through resellers who both sell and support. Some resellers are excellent and some, less so. My advice here is once you have chosen the system for yourself, start talking to the resellers, talk to other users – this is helpful guide to finding great resellers of those systems who match with you and your business.
Most CAD software is modular so if starting out with CAD you may be gob-smacked at the idea of spending £8,000+ for software you may not use, so consider options like buying the base package and then upgrading, or even renting the software and scanner option which some companies and resellers are now doing. The disadvantage to this is it can be a more costly approach as you grow the lab but again, that’s a decision that you have to make for you and your business.
As I said earlier, at Byrnes we use 3Shape and exocad as our main systems with exocad taking around 70% of our working day and 25% on 3Shape. We need these systems and it’s a simple fact that we can’t do without both. They each have their pros and cons which is where they fit into the way we work at Byrnes – e.g. we run Carbon printers and they simply work better with 3Shape, but all my crown and bridge diagnostic stages and final work is on exocad because we prefer the way it works and the communication tools it offers with our clients. That’s just two examples but the list is honestly into the hundreds.
I can’t personally advise you what system to choose because each lab and lab team is different, and yet it is the question I get most from other lab owners looking to invest in CAD. Keep an open mind, beware of those ‘clubs’, check out YouTube tutorials and see if you can follow along, and lastly, build a great relationship with your supplier or reseller – trust me, you will need them as I still do now.