Dental 3D Software Gets a Boost Thanks to a New Collaboration

PreXion, a leader in high-quality 3D cone beam imaging systems for dentistry, and turnkey guided surgery provider 3D Diagnostix have announced a collaboration to integrate 3D Diagnostix services with the PreXion 3D Viewer software. Software users will receive a free upgrade that enables a comprehensive, built-in guided surgery solution as well as direct access to other services.

The goal of the new agreement is to make the process of ordering surgical guides and radiology reports as seamless as possible right from within PreXion’s 3D Viewer software. The alliance will involve teams from PreXion and 3D Diagnostix collaborating to give professionals a more complete experience through the software, which already integrates with the rest of the dental practice digital workflow.

Other priorities of this engagement include direct upload of patient data, users can also order implant treatment plans, surgical guides, comprehensive radiology readings, and even surgical guide STL files for in-office 3D printing. As stated in the June 2020 announcement of both companies, among various improvements to the experience are order templates and case queueing. Multiple cases can be queued and sent simultaneously and recurring orders can even be saved as templates for easier ordering later on. Multiple user profiles can also be defined with their own settings and templates in case of more than one doctor at the same practice.

PreXion 3D Viewer software. (Image courtesy of PreXion)

As a spinoff from TeraRecon—a leader in advanced imaging processing technology and solutions—PreXion optimizes its 3D Viewer software specifically for its dental, high spatial resolution PreXion3D cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scanners, and the company claims that the combination of the software with the CBCT scanners sets them apart from any other dental 3D systems available on the market. As one of the perks at PreXion, the PreXion 3D Viewer software comes with all PreXion 3D scanners at no additional charge and already contains modules for evaluating dedicated 2D panoramic, 2D cephalometric, and 3D images. It can also be installed on any Windows PC on the network, allowing scans to be viewed from any computer with no additional or annual viewer licensing fees. Plus, medical imaging data can be sent from any computer for surgical guides or to a referring doctor.

The two companies are both big players in their respective markets. As one of the first guided surgery service providers, 3D Diagnostix strives to be a leader in support services between computed tomography (CT) scans and surgery for dentistry. The Boston, Massachusetts-based firm started out in 2005 and has since expanded to provide turnkey guided surgery solutions such as implant treatment planning, surgical guides, radiology reports, and implant planning software to dental professionals all over the world, including the United Kingdom, Europe, and the Middle East.

The 3D Diagnostix surgical guides are in fact made in Boston using state of the art manufacturing technology, are available at affordable prices, and offer bone, tooth, and mucosa support, according to the company. While radiology reports provide valuable diagnostic information on patient pathology and are interpreted and signed by board-certified Oral and Maxillofacial Radiologist (OMR)’s. Other digital support services to dentists and CT scanning centers guided full mouth restorations and bio models.

“At 3D Diagnostix we believe that experience is a lesson of the past to lessen the burden of the future,” said CEO Khaled ElSaid. “As one of the leading digital dental service providers, that is what we set out to do along with PreXion, elevating the user experience of current and future clients.”

Surgical guides by 3D Diagnostix. (Image courtesy of 3D Diagnostix)

Imagining innovative digital dental X-ray imaging technologies is part of PreXion’s goal to aid dentists and ultimately help improve the health of dental patients. Headquartered in San Jose, California, PreXion says they offer one of the lowest radiation CBCT imaging systems. Incorporating fast remote access to 3D scans and dental in-office workflow with easy 3D animated Movie Maker and 3D patient case acceptance tools. The products and software are the results of over 15 years of experience in 3D digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) image reconstruction processing and software visualization that support the exact diagnosis and planning of implants from 3D CBCT images.

Already a $3.4 billion market, 3D printing for dental could become a $9.2 billion industry by 2028, according to predictions in SmarTech’s last report on the sector, released in March 2019. Even more so, SmarTech industry forecasts for dental 3D printing consider that since dental is already a big part of the healthcare AM market and so mature in terms of AM adoption, we can only expect it to grow in the next decade, with surgical guides as one of the five most significant dental applications driving hardware and material opportunities. This new collaboration is another example of how the dental market can join efforts to grow even more. Lately, we have witnessed other partnerships and alliances to enhance products and services for dental practitioners that help improve the overall health of patients.