Digital Dentistry Decoded

Gum grafting is the soft tissue skill many GPs skip on the way to implants. Periodontist Dr. Fadi Hasan explains why it should come first.In this episode of Digital Dentistry Decoded, Dr. Ahmad Al-Hassiny sits down with Dr. Fadi Hasan, a board-certified periodontist at Sculpt Center for Implants & Periodontics and one half of The Perio Amigos. Hasan explains how he decides when gingival recession needs treatment and when to monitor, why he values tissue thickness over complete root coverage, and how he sets expectations with patients before surgery.The conversation breaks down the main soft tissue graft options (free gingival grafts, de-epithelialized FGGs, tuberosity grafts, allografts and collagen matrices) and when Hasan reaches for each around teeth and implants. He also shares how he protects the palatal donor site with a printed stent, and where digital workflows already help in perio surgery, from intraoral scans for patient education to guided crown lengthening and printed guides for block graft harvesting.Ahmad also gives his take on traditional photogrammetry, horizontal scan bodies and the new photogrammetry apps.🎓 Dr. Fadi Hasan's perio course on iDD - https://academy.instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/courses/predictable-soft-tissue-surgery/Chapters00:00:00 Introduction to Digital Dentistry Decoded00:01:26 Guest Introduction - Dr. Fadi Hasan from Sculpt Center for Implants & Periodontics00:02:58 Where Perio and Prosthetics Overlap00:05:31 Why Soft Tissue Skills Come Before Implants00:07:37 Microsutures and Soft Tissue Finesse00:08:25 Intraoral Scans for Graft Patient Education00:08:59 Digital Wax-Ups for Pontic Site Development00:13:29 Guided Gingivectomy and Crown Lengthening00:14:11 Guided Block Graft Harvesting00:15:09 Surgical Guides for Apicoectomies and Sinus Lifts00:16:37 Smartphone Scanning and Photogrammetry00:17:21 Photogrammetry vs Scan Bodies vs Apps00:19:57 When to Treat Gingival Recession00:22:58 Keratinized Tissue and the 2 mm Debate00:24:00 Recession Progression and Treatment Timing00:25:53 Bony Peaks and Realistic Root Coverage00:28:45 Clinical Photo Documentation00:29:53 Specialists, GPs and Sharing Knowledge00:34:02 What a Periodontist Treats Day to Day00:38:53 Soft Tissue Graft Types Explained00:40:27 Protecting the Palate with a Printed Stent00:41:26 Autogenous vs Allograft Selection00:43:25 Collagen Matrices Around Implants00:44:22 Soft Tissue Overhead and Practice Revenue00:47:30 FGG vs De-Epithelialized FGG00:49:58 FGGs Around Mandibular All-on-X00:50:32 Tuberosity Grafts for Implant Sites00:51:44 Closing Remarks------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------📲 Let's be social! Follow iDD on the following platforms:Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/instituteofdigitaldentistryInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/idigitaldentistry/LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/company/instituteofdigitaldentistryTikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@idigitaldentistryX - https://x.com/iDigitalDentist📍Institute of Digital Dentistry At the forefront of digital dentistry education - your digital dentistry journey starts here! https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/📚 Join iDD's Free Academy and get instant access to over 40+ Free digital dentistry courses and eBook PDFs! https://idd.to/freeacademy💻 Check out our online course bundles: https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/bundles/🎙️Listen to our 'Digital Dentistry Decoded with iDD' podcast on your favorite streaming platform now! https://idd.to/podcast#GumGrafting #Periodontics #SoftTissueManagement #DigitalDentistry #DigitalDentistryDecoded

Digital smile design founder Dr. Christian Coachman explains why the workflow should come before the technology, and what that means for 3D printing.This episode includes a sponsored message from SprintRay.In this interview, Dr. Ahmad Al-Hassiny talks with Dr. Christian Coachman, the dentist and dental technician who founded Digital Smile Design (DSD). Christian walks through the three pillars behind DSD (emotional, comprehensive, and guided dentistry) and explains why he ranks clinical execution last.From there, the conversation turns to technology adoption. Christian explains why he designs the workflow before choosing equipment, why he sees non-dental AI agents as the most interesting development right now, and why a new idea can take a decade to become routine.The second half covers chairside 3D printing and copy-paste dentistry, the gap between the diagnostic wax-up and the final restoration, how to choose a printer by listing indications first, where printed resins fit against ceramics, milling, and direct composite, and a five-scenario framework for deciding when to change a workflow you already have.Learn smile design with iDD - https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/bundles/digital-smile-design-online-course-bundle/Chapters00:00:00 Cold Open00:00:34 Introduction to Digital Dentistry Decoded00:01:11 Guest Introduction - Dr. Christian Coachman from DSD00:02:39 From Dental Technician to Smile Architect00:10:35 The Three Pillars of Digital Smile Design00:13:54 Why Clinical Execution Matters Least00:20:00 Buying Technology Without a Workflow00:27:47 A Business Model for Every Decision00:30:00 AI Agents and the Gadget Overload Problem00:35:54 From Podium Cases to Real Adoption00:44:45 Sponsor Message - SprintRay00:45:28 Scanners, Printers, and Copy-Paste Dentistry00:51:05 The Wax-Up Versus Final Outcome Gap00:52:57 How to Choose a Dental 3D Printer00:58:34 Printed Restorations - Final or Provisional?01:04:50 Where Printing Beats Milling01:10:09 The Five Scenarios Decision Framework01:12:26 Final Message - Back to Human Dentistry01:14:32 Closing Remarks------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------📲 Let's be social! Follow iDD on the following platforms:Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/instituteofdigitaldentistryInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/idigitaldentistry/LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/company/instituteofdigitaldentistryTikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@idigitaldentistryX - https://x.com/iDigitalDentist📍Institute of Digital Dentistry At the forefront of digital dentistry education - your digital dentistry journey starts here! https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/📚 Join iDD's Free Academy and get instant access to over 40+ Free digital dentistry courses and eBook PDFs! https://idd.to/freeacademy💻 Check out our online course bundles: https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/bundles/🎙️Listen to our 'Digital Dentistry Decoded with iDD' podcast on your favorite streaming platform now! https://idd.to/podcast#DigitalSmileDesign #DigitalDentistry #Dental3DPrinting #ChristianCoachman #DigitalDentistryDecoded

Dental 3D printing went from niche to normal in a decade, and SprintRay led much of it. Co-founder Hossein Bassir on what actually changed.In this episode of Digital Dentistry Decoded, Dr. Ahmad Al-Hassiny sits down with Hossein Bassir, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of SprintRay, for a wide conversation on where dental 3D printing has been and where it is going. Hossein makes the case that materials, not printers, decide the outcome, and explains how that thinking led to Midas, Crown HT and the highly filled Restore resin.Dr. Ahmad pushes back as a full-time clinician, on printed crown longevity, on the criticism that press technology is smoke and mirrors, and on the post-processing and washing friction that still slows people down. They also get into open versus closed ecosystems, new business models for All-on-X, why only a small share of practices print today, and how better CAD and AI might change that.CHAPTERS00:00:00 Cold Open00:00:40 Guest Welcome - Hossein Bassir from SprintRay00:01:28 A Decade of Dental 3D Printing00:05:13 How Materials, Hardware and Software Connect00:11:23 Workflow and Materials as the Real Moat00:15:28 Why Midas and Press Printing Exist00:21:46 Answering the Smoke and Mirrors Criticism00:26:46 Printed Crowns, Recalls and Clinician Trust00:37:33 Why SprintRay Is the CEREC of 3D Printing00:42:36 The Post-Processing and Washing Problem00:49:14 Open Versus Closed Ecosystems00:55:37 Why Most Practices Do Not Print and the CAD Barrier01:07:36 Culture, the Next Hundred Years and What's Next01:18:25 Closing Thoughts------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------📲 Let's be social! Follow iDD on the following platforms:Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/instituteofdigitaldentistryInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/idigitaldentistry/LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/company/instituteofdigitaldentistryTikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@idigitaldentistryX - https://x.com/iDigitalDentist📍Institute of Digital Dentistry At the forefront of digital dentistry education - your digital dentistry journey starts here! https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/📚 Join iDD's Free Academy and get instant access to over 40+ Free digital dentistry courses and eBook PDFs! https://idd.to/freeacademy💻 Check out our online course bundles: https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/bundles/🎙️Listen to our 'Digital Dentistry Decoded with iDD' podcast on your favorite streaming platform now! https://idd.to/podcast#DentalThreeDeePrinting #SprintRay #DigitalDentistry #PrintedCrowns #DDDPodcast

The Chicago Midwinter Meeting president on why dental expos are getting harder and how AI and 3D printing are reshaping dentistry.

In this episode of Digital Dentistry Decoded, Dr Ahmad Al-Hassiny sits down with Dr Phil Schefke, President of the Chicago Dental Society, for a candid conversation about where the dental industry and its biggest events are heading. They get into why expo attendance is getting harder every year, what is really driving the shift, and why Phil believes any clinician who does not keep pace with AI and 3D printing risks being left behind.

Phil shares how the CDS runs the Chicago Midwinter Meeting, why companies still choose Chicago to launch new products, and how his own organization has started using AI in the office. The two also dig into 3D printed ceramic crowns, the reimbursement squeeze in the US, the rural dentist shortage, and where dentistry could go over the next 20 years.

A wide-ranging read on the industry from someone who runs one of the largest dental meetings in the world.

New to digital 3D printing? Our 3D Printing and Design bundle walks you through bringing it in-house: https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/bundles/3d-printing-and-design-online-course-bundle/

Read our full Chicago Midwinter Meeting and LMT Lab Day 2026 recap: https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/news/chicago-midwinter-meeting-lmt-lab-day-2026/

CHAPTERS

00:00:00 Introduction to Digital Dentistry Decoded

00:00:57 Guest Introduction - Dr Phil Schefke from the CDS

00:02:34 Inside the Chicago Midwinter Meeting

00:07:00 Phil's Role and Path in Organized Dentistry

00:09:34 The Digital Wave and Industry Trends

00:12:24 Stay Current or Be Left Behind

00:13:31 One Lifetime of Change in Dentistry

00:16:47 Why In-Person Meetings Still Matter

00:21:07 What Is Driving Falling Expo Attendance

00:26:52 AI in the Practice and an AI Receptionist

00:30:38 3D Printing, Pressed CAD and Printed Crowns

00:32:28 The Reimbursement Squeeze in America

00:35:15 New Graduates and the Rural Dentist Shortage

00:38:21 The Next 20 Years of Dentistry

00:39:55 Why Companies Launch Products in Chicago

00:43:01 Closing Thoughts and Joining the CDS

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📍Institute of Digital Dentistry At the forefront of digital dentistry education - your digital dentistry journey starts here! https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/

📚 Join iDD's Free Academy and get instant access to over 40+ Free digital dentistry courses and eBook PDFs! https://idd.to/freeacademy

💻 Check out our online course bundles: https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/bundles/

🎙️Listen to our 'Digital Dentistry Decoded with iDD' podcast on your favorite streaming platform now! https://idd.to/podcast

#DigitalDentistry #ChicagoMidwinterMeeting #ChicagoDentalSociety #FutureOfDentistry #DentalPodcast

Cosmetic dentistry has changed more in the last decade than in the twenty years before it, and Dr. Jameel Gardee has lived every step.

In this episode of Digital Dentistry Decoded, Dr. Ahmad Al-Hassiny sits down with Dr. Jameel Gardee, cosmetic dentist and Smile Design educator at Avant Garde in the UK. Jameel trained under Christian Coachman and has spent more than a decade on digital smile design, so the conversation traces what actually changed as the field moved from film cameras and hand wax-ups to scan-first, guided digital workflows. They dig into the principles that still matter (starting with the face), how Jameel's team leans on support staff and a scan-every-patient philosophy, the rise of dental tourism and overtreatment, and where 3D-printed restoratives fit next to zirconia and e.max. If you want a grounded, honest read on modern cosmetic dentistry, this one earns your time.

The full course Jameel and the Avant Garde team built with iDD, Aesthetic Smile Design Excellence, is linked below.

Thank you to SprintRay for sponsoring this Digital Dentistry Decoded Podcast. To learn more about their 3D Printers and to Book a Demo - https://info.sprintray.com/digital-dentistry-decoded-podcast

Aesthetic Smile Design Excellence course - https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/bundles/aesthetic-smile-design-excellence-course/

Chapters

00:00:00 Cold Open

00:00:35 Introduction to Digital Dentistry Decoded

00:01:05 Meet Dr Jameel Gardee and Avant Garde

00:02:10 From Glasgow to Boston University

00:04:23 Discovering Digital Smile Design

00:10:16 What Makes Cosmetic Dentistry Different

00:13:29 Start With the Face

00:16:18 From Film Cameras to Digital Predictability

00:20:15 Key Pearls for New Dentists

00:26:41 Why AI Won't Replace Patient Trust

00:30:38 The Scan-First Patient Journey

00:37:44 Dental Tourism and Overtreatment

00:40:11 Scanners, Zirconia and 3D Printing

00:50:04 Navigating Fast-Changing Materials

00:55:16 Final Thoughts

📲 Let's be social! Follow iDD on the following platforms:

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📍Institute of Digital Dentistry At the forefront of digital dentistry education - your digital dentistry journey starts here! https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/

📚 Join iDD's Free Academy and get instant access to over 40+ Free digital dentistry courses and eBook PDFs! https://idd.to/freeacademy

💻 Check out our online course bundles: https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/bundles/

🎙️Listen to our 'Digital Dentistry Decoded with iDD' podcast on your favorite streaming platform now! https://idd.to/podcast

#CosmeticDentistry #DigitalSmileDesign #DigitalDentistry #DentalPodcast

Cosmetic dentistry case acceptance is a communication problem, not a sales problem, and Dr. Brian Harris breaks down exactly how he closes cases.In this episode of Digital Dentistry Decoded, Dr. Ahmad Al-Hassiny sits down with Dr. Brian Harris, a Phoenix-based cosmetic dentist with more than 300,000 Instagram followers and 22 years spent placing porcelain veneers. The conversation digs into the patient journey Brian built around video-based virtual consultations, why he says it drives a 92% acceptance rate on cases over $15,000, and how he uses smile test drives and freehand mock-ups so patients feel confident before they ever commit.They also get into where 3D-printed veneers fit alongside porcelain, the three-tier menu of services Brian offers every patient, how he talks about veneer longevity honestly, and the mindset he calls connection before conversion. It is a practical look at the patient communication and smile design habits behind consistent cosmetic dentistry case acceptance.If you offer cosmetic dentistry, which of your services would you turn into a named three-tier menu? Let us know in the comments.CHAPTERS00:00:00 Cold Open00:00:39 Welcome and Guest Introduction00:02:06 Brian Harris's Background and Dental Family00:04:59 Getting Into Cosmetics Through Social Media00:07:38 Advice for Dentists Entering Cosmetic Dentistry00:09:35 Veneer Materials, Ceramics, and Cements00:12:14 The Scanners He Uses in Practice00:13:31 The Virtual Consult Process and Case Acceptance00:19:18 Social Media as a Lead Generation Engine00:22:02 The In-Person Consult and Smile Test Drive00:28:40 How to Present a Mock-Up to Patients00:30:14 Charging for Cosmetic Consultations00:31:45 3D-Printed Veneers, Neer, and Longevity00:37:36 The Three-Tier Menu of Services00:44:33 Patient Questions and Objections00:48:29 Connection Before Conversion------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------📲 Let's be social! Follow iDD on the following platforms:Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/instituteofdigitaldentistryInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/idigitaldentistry/LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/company/instituteofdigitaldentistryTikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@idigitaldentistryX - https://x.com/iDigitalDentist📍Institute of Digital Dentistry At the forefront of digital dentistry education - your digital dentistry journey starts here! https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/📚 Join iDD's Free Academy and get instant access to over 40+ Free digital dentistry courses and eBook PDFs! https://idd.to/freeacademy💻 Check out our online course bundles: https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/bundles/🎙️Listen to our 'Digital Dentistry Decoded with iDD' podcast on your favorite streaming platform now! https://idd.to/podcast#CosmeticDentistry #CaseAcceptance #DigitalDentistry #DentalPodcast #Veneers

Shining 3D just launched the Ceramix-Nano, a chairside pod printer the size of a Nespresso machine that aims to print permanent resin crowns in minutes.

In this episode of Digital Dentistry Decoded, Dr. Ahmad Al-Hassiny sits down with Da Chen, R&D manager of the 3D printing division at Shining 3D, to talk through how it works and where it actually fits in clinical practice.

This is a conversation, not a review. Da Chen explains the thinking behind the printer, including why his team borrowed sizing logic from intraoral scanner development to fit a powerful DLP projector into a 2kg body. He walks through the pneumatic layer separation system Shining 3D calls APS (Adaptive Pneumatic Stereolithography), which is built to keep the machine small while speeding up printing and protecting the restoration as each layer peels.

You will also hear how the capsule handles mixing automatically, why the curing unit is built into the base of the printer, and how the optional inert gas curing module produces a smoother surface finish. Da Chen shares the print times Shining 3D is quoting (around 8 minutes for a single anterior crown and roughly 9 to 11 minutes for a posterior) and how the full chairside workflow is meant to deliver a finished restoration in a single appointment.

The discussion stays honest about the hard parts. Da Chen is candid about the current limitations of the first-generation LumiCera resin, particularly translucency, and explains why high ceramic loading makes aesthetics so difficult. He and Dr. Ahmad also dig into the post-processing and washing challenge that, in their view, no one in the industry has fully solved yet.

There is plenty here on the bigger picture too, including the Shining Flow ecosystem, the AI design and credits model, why the printer runs as an open system with third-party scanners and CAD software like exocad, and Da Chen's honest take on whether resin will ever replace ceramic.

Da Chen could not share pricing on the episode. We will break down the full cost of the printer, capsules, and credits in a dedicated blog on the iDD website.

The specifications and performance claims discussed here come from Shining 3D. As always, iDD remains independent, and we will share our own hands-on assessment separately.

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Cold open

0:41 Welcome and meet Da Chen from Shining 3D R&D

3:04 Naming the Ceramix-Nano and shrinking a DLP printer

5:43 Just how small this printer is

6:52 Why a pod printer, and is resin the future of restorative dentistry?

8:02 A 20-minute chairside save (a beta tester story)

9:34 How pod printing works (the pneumatic peeling system)

12:08 Automatic mixing and built-in curing

15:23 Post-processing and wear-resistance testing

16:42 The LumiCera resin and the translucency challenge

23:12 The Shining Flow concept, AI design, and credits

30:46 The washing problem no one has solved yet

41:00 Print times, curing modes, and total chairside time

45:07 Will resin replace ceramic, and closing thoughts

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📍Institute of Digital Dentistry At the forefront of digital dentistry education - your digital dentistry journey starts here! https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/

📚 Join iDD's Free Academy and get instant access to over 40+ Free digital dentistry courses and eBook PDFs! https://idd.to/freeacademy

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#CeramixNano #Shining3D #ChairsideDentistry #3DPrinting #DigitalDentistry

Dental 3D printing is growing fast, but only 15% of dental practices are actually using it. Formlabs Dental's Georgio Haddad joins Dr. Ahmad Al-Hassiny to share the data behind what dentists are really printing, where the technology still falls short, and what it will take for chairside 3D printing to go mainstream.

Georgio has spent eight years at Formlabs working across product, marketing, sales, and partnerships, and brings a rare ground-level view of where the dental 3D printing market actually sits versus where the hype says it is.

In this episode, they cover Formlabs' move to open all Form 4B and Form 4BL dental printers out of the box, what the real utilization data shows about how dentists and labs are printing differently, why models still dominate at around 60% of all prints despite barely being talked about, the honest picture on 3D printed restorations and whether dentists are genuinely placing them, the direct print aligner race and whether it is ready for clinical adoption, and what the unlock for mass 3D printing adoption in dental practices actually looks like.

If you are weighing up a printer purchase or trying to cut through the noise around dental 3D printing, this conversation is a good place to start.

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⏱️ Episode Chapters

00:00 - Introduction

00:24 - Georgio Haddad and 8 years at Formlabs Dental

01:10 - Formlabs goes fully open - the strategic shift explained

02:46 - Why the previous open material mode did not work

03:47 - 50+ third-party resins now validated on the Form 4B

05:04 - Open systems as a competitive advantage in the lab market

06:06 - Which resin manufacturers have joined the platform

07:33 - Lucitone and Dentsply Sirona validation on the Form 4BL

10:15 - Is an open platform the future of dental 3D printing?

12:04 - Customer psychology and the peace-of-mind factor

13:07 - Lessons from CEREC, TRIOS, and intraoral scanner history

14:17 - Has material innovation in 3D printing plateaued?

16:17 - Direct print aligners - the next big frontier?

19:41 - Are intraoral scanners commoditized?

21:19 - What is left to innovate in 3D printing?

23:38 - Direct print aligners - are they ready for clinical adoption?

25:07 - 3D printing penetration data - 15% of practices, 50%+ of ortho

26:12 - What will unlock mass adoption in dental clinics?

28:17 - Formlabs' edge - the world's largest professional desktop 3D printer manufacturer

32:31 - What are dentists actually printing? The real breakdown

33:44 - Why utilization rate is the most important metric

36:25 - Models dominate at 60%, splints second, restorations at the tail

38:15 - Are 3D printed crowns gaining real clinical acceptance?

41:57 - Historical parallels - implants, zirconia, and e.max skepticism

43:00 - What is coming next from Formlabs Dental?

44:59 - Pod printers - market trend or here to stay?

50:39 - Closing thoughts and where to find Formlabs Dental

🔗 Full written blog:

https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/podcast/s04-e10-formlabs-reveals-the-data/

---

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📍Institute of Digital Dentistry

At the forefront of digital dentistry education - your digital dentistry journey starts here!

https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/

📚 Join iDD's Free Academy and get instant access to over 40+ Free digital dentistry courses and eBook PDFs!

https://idd.to/freeacademy

💻 Check out our online course bundles:

https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/bundles/

🎙️Listen to our 'Digital Dentistry Decoded with iDD' podcast on your favorite streaming platform now!

https://idd.to/podcast

#DigitalDentistry #DentalTechnology #Formlabs

Chairside 3D printing adoption is stuck. Pac-Dent's Ayush Bagla explains why CAD is the bottleneck, and what his team is doing about it.

In this episode of Digital Dentistry Decoded, Dr. Ahmad Al-Hassiny sits down with Ayush Bagla, Managing Director at Pac-Dent and former CEO of Ackuretta, to unpack the real numbers behind 3D printing adoption in dentistry. Only 18% of US clinics have a 3D printer. Of those, most are still only printing models. Ayush argues the missing piece is not the hardware. It is the CAD step, and the cost, training, and time it adds to every chairside case.

The conversation covers the Pac-Dent acquisition of Ackuretta and how the two companies are merging analog and digital workflows. Ayush walks through their Chicago Midwinter launches (the SOL SE printer, the Chroma Flash curing unit, and the new CrownPod pod printer), and he and Ahmad dig into why bulb-based flash curing outperforms LED, whether nitrogen curing still matters, and whether pediatric crowns printed on demand could be the first real chairside printing application that actually scales.

If you have been wondering why so many dentists own a printer but still only use it for models, or what the next phase of digital dentistry looks like beyond scanners and CAD, this episode is for you.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Welcome and Why the Dental Industry Feels Different in 2026

01:28 - The Pac-Dent and Ackuretta Acquisition (Inside the Deal)

04:38 - Why Industry Consolidation Will Keep Happening

07:32 - 3D Printing Adoption - The Lab vs Chairside Gap

08:55 - The Forgotten Metric (Adoption vs Utilization)

10:30 - Are Printed Crowns Hitting a Strength Ceiling?

12:28 - Pac-Dent's Chicago Midwinter Launches

12:50 - SOL SE Printer (Faster, Smarter, Same Platform)

14:16 - Chroma Flash Curing Unit (Why Bulbs Beat LEDs)

17:00 - CURIE Plus vs Chroma Flash (Which One for You)

20:24 - Is Bulb Curing the Future?

20:59 - The Nitrogen Curing Debate

26:00 - Splints, Aesthetics, and the Glaze Story

28:51 - The CrownPod and the Catalyst Workflow

29:33 - Print Crowns Without a Scanner or CAD Software

32:23 - Beyond Pediatric - The CrownPod Roadmap

34:24 - Whitening Trays and Rodin Works

37:34 - Is Pod Printing the Future of Chairside?

40:42 - When Will the CrownPod Ship?

40:55 - The 3D Printer Oversupply Problem

41:52 - What's Exciting in 3D Printing Right Now

44:29 - How HeyGears Multi-Material Denture Printing Works

45:23 - Could PolyJet Ever Go Chairside?

46:52 - Final Advice for Dentists Adopting Digital in 2026

48:03 - How to Choose Your First Printer

50:06 - Outro

🔗 Full written blog: https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/podcast/s04-e09-cad-problem-killing-chairside-3d-printing-adoption/

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

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📍Institute of Digital Dentistry

At the forefront of digital dentistry education - your digital dentistry journey starts here!

https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/

📚 Join iDD's Free Academy and get instant access to over 40+ Free digital dentistry courses and eBook PDFs!

https://idd.to/freeacademy

💻 Check out our online course bundles:

https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/bundles/

🎙️ Listen to our 'Digital Dentistry Decoded with iDD' podcast on your favorite streaming platform now!

https://idd.to/podcast

#DigitalDentistry #3DPrinting #DentalPodcast #ChairsideDentistry #PacDent

Bite-Finder CEO Björn Zäuner joins Dr. Ahmad to reveal what the data from millions of scans actually shows — and the number is worse than most dentists want to admit.

Björn built Bite-Finder from the inside out. Starting with his family's dental lab, he identified that occlusion, shade, and contacts were the three leading causes of crown remakes — and set out to solve the bite problem with software. Today, Bite-Finder is integrated directly into exocad and a growing list of scanners, and over 12,000 users worldwide have signed up since its public launch in 2023.

In this episode, Dr. Ahmad and Björn go deep on why bad bites happen, what the data actually shows across scanner brands, and what labs and dentists can do right now to improve their outcomes. They also cover the xSNAP acquisition, patient-specific articulators, Margin Finder, AI-powered scan QC, and the bigger vision of making quality dentistry accessible at scale.

If you work with an intraoral scanner or run a dental lab, this one is worth your time.

🕐 CHAPTERS

00:00 - Introduction and Bjorn's Background in Dental Tech

05:04 - What Is Bite-Finder? The Elevator Pitch

06:50 - How Bite-Finder Integrates Into Your Existing Workflow

10:36 - Why Digital Bites Get More Scrutiny Than Analog Impressions

12:37 - Dynamic Occlusion and Patient-Specific Jaw Simulation

21:51 - Open Data, Integrations and the Road Ahead

27:50 - The Data: What Bite-Finder Sees Across Millions of Scans

29:17 - The Three Reasons Bite Scans Fail (Scanner, Operator, Patient)

32:09 - Do Scanner Brands Actually Make a Difference?

36:42 - xSNAP, Margin Finder and the Evolving Platform

42:39 - Why AI Prep Analysis Still Isn't Built Into Scanners

46:34 - Quality at Scale for DSOs and Large Labs

47:38 - 40 Million Edentulous Americans: The Access Problem

52:10 - Final Thoughts and How to Try Bite-Finder Free

🔗 LINKS AND RESOURCES

Try Bite-Finder free and book a demo: https://bite-finder.com

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