What Should Be Your First Investment in Digital Dentistry?

With over 30 intraoral scanners on the market, dozens of 3D printers, milling machines, and CAD software platforms all fighting for your attention, the digital dentistry landscape has never been more crowded.

And honestly? It's never been more confusing for dentists trying to figure out where to start.

I recently joined Dr. Luken de Arbeloa on the DSD Quarterback Dentist podcast to talk about exactly this. What should dentists actually invest in first? What mistakes should you avoid? And why is the answer probably not what you think?

It was a great conversation. Dr. Luken is deeply embedded in the Digital Smile Design world, and we share a lot of the same views on education and digital workflows.

Here's where things get interesting.

Your First Investment Shouldn't Be Equipment

I know, I know. Every educator says this. But hear me out. Dr. Luken made a point during our conversation that I completely agree with. He said your first investment should be in education, not devices.

When you understand what you want, the purchasing decision becomes much easier.

I've lived this. When my family first got into digital dentistry, we bought an E4D system. Back then, there were really only two options: E4D or CEREC (the Red Cam/Blue Cam era). My father was cautious, so naturally we went for the cheaper option.

Now, the E4D was fine for its time. But it had limitations. That led us to buy the Planmeca PlanScan, which also had issues, particularly with edentulous scanning.

So we bought a TRIOS to fill those gaps. Then, eventually, we added CEREC.

Before I knew it, I had an Omnicam, a TRIOS, and a Planmeca scanner all in the same practice. Not because I was building a scanner review platform, but because we kept trying to fix problems caused by rushing into purchases without enough knowledge.

My $25,000 Paperweight

Let me be honest. I have an even more painful story than that.

When the 3D printing boom happened, I got caught up in the hype. A certain group on social media was really pushing EnvisionTEC printers, and I felt the FOMO.

At the time, I had a Formlabs Form 2. It was really just doing models and surgical guides. This new EnvisionTEC was supposed to do dentures, everything. So I rushed in. No education. No real research. Just bought it. That printer cost me around $25,000 USD.

And today? It is literally a paperweight in my practice, collecting dust. EnvisionTEC has gone totally downhill, bankrupt to be precise, and prior to that, pulled support from New Zealand. I couldn't use it if I wanted to, and frankly, it was not what all the KOL marketing made it out to be.

Make no mistake, this is exactly why education matters.

A well-trained team with fewer gadgets will always outperform a team with all the tools but very little training. I've seen too many practices buy all the stuff, and it makes no difference for them.

The Scanner Is the Gateway

So if education is step one, what's step two?

Dr. Luken and I agreed completely on this. If you want to digitize your practice, the intraoral scanner is the number one tool.

The scanner is the gateway to everything in digital dentistry. Once you can scan, you unlock a world of possibilities: same-day restorations, aligners, smile design, surgical guides, 3D printing workflows, and so much more.

But here's the thing.

You need to figure out what your budget is, what you want to use it for, and which country you're in. The advice I'd give a dentist in America is not the same as the advice I'd give someone in the Middle East or South America. The economic realities are different. The distribution and support infrastructure are different.

And the price range is enormous. There's a massive difference between a $5,000 scanner and a $30,000 scanner, and I can tell you it's not all about performance.

Support, software ecosystems, integration with other tools, and local distribution all play a role. We do a lot of scanner reviews at iDD, and this is one of the most popular things we cover because it's the question every single dentist asks.

My Personal Top Five Scanners Right Now

Dr. Luken asked me which scanners I actually use in my own clinic, chairside, day to day. Here's what I told him.

1. CEREC Primescan with Primemill. This is the one I use most often. Now, that's not because the Primescan is necessarily the most amazing standalone scanner on the market. It's a great scanner. But the full CEREC same-day workflow is what makes it incredible. I do a lot of same-day dentistry. A lot. Every single day. So if you want to do chairside crowns in a single visit, this is an option you need to seriously consider. Of course, there's a budget to think about.

2. Shining 3D Aoralscan Elite. This scanner genuinely surprised me. The intraoral photogrammetry technology was a real game-changer. We run scanning awards at iDD, where dentists vote, and the Aoralscan Elite was our Scanner of the Year. It deserved it.

3. 3Shape TRIOS 5. A consistently excellent scanner that I use frequently. It handles virtually every indication well.

4. Medit i900. When someone is using my TRIOS 5, I'm reaching for the i900. Medit continues to push boundaries, and this scanner delivers great performance across the board. The new i900 Mobility is really cool too.

5. Alliedstar (now Straumann). If I had to throw in a really good, low-cost option, this is it. Alliedstar was acquired by Straumann, and I genuinely think it was one of the best acquisitions in the intraoral scanner space. For the cost, the performance is impressive.

Dr. Luken agreed with me completely on this one. He said the first time he used the Alliedstar wireless, he was completely surprised by its quality, accuracy, speed, and affordability.

Master Scanning First, Then Keep Going

If you're a total beginner, the most important first course is a hands-on intraoral scanning course.

Not a course about scanning technology types. Honestly, whether your scanner uses confocal or triangulation technology is not relevant in day-to-day clinical practice. What you need is someone to show you how to hold a scanner, how to retract soft tissue, how to manage saliva, and how to maneuver to get a fast, accurate scan.

Then you need to practice. Like crazy.

I always tell the colleagues who train with us at iDD: when you start digital dentistry, I want your impression material to expire. You should stop using it. You should find yourself throwing away all the Impragum and alginate.

That's when you know you've made the transition.

When I first started scanning, it literally took me 20 minutes for an upper, lower, and bite. Now I can scan a patient in 30 seconds. Consistently. And I genuinely don't believe that came from a single course. It came from hundreds and hundreds of scans.

In saying that, how far you take digital dentistry after mastering scanning is entirely up to you and your practice.

Some people master scanning and stop there. Some want to go further into design, CAD/CAM, AI, 3D printing, and keep pushing. DSD runs probably the best smile design course in the world if you want to go down that route of smile harmony and treatment planning.

There's no single pathway for any dentist because we are all so different in what we do and how we practice.

After Scanning: The Manufacturing Decision

Once you've mastered scanning, the next question is whether you want to manufacture in-house.

If you do, a 3D printer is the logical next investment. Printers have become incredibly affordable and capable. If you're looking to produce splints, models, surgical guides, or composite/resin crowns, a printer will serve you well.

If you need to do full-arch zirconia restorations or have a technician working in-house, you may need a milling machine instead.

Mind you, milling machines haven't taken off in clinics the way printers have, mainly because of cost. But they serve a very different purpose.

The bottom line is that both printers and milling machines are output devices. The real question isn't "printer or milling?" It's: what do you want to manufacture in your clinic?

And if you don't want to manufacture in-house at all? That's perfectly fine. Not every practice needs to.

You can leverage digital tools for smile design, orthodontic simulation, and patient communication to generate ROI without ever owning a printer or milling machine.

The CAD Barrier Nobody Talks About

Now, here's something I think the industry seriously underestimates. CAD software is still the biggest barrier for most dentists trying to go beyond scanning.

The scanning side? It's solved. Fast, accurate, accessible at every price point.

The manufacturing side? Also established. Printing, milling, the workflows are understood. It's not like you're navigating something brand new.

But the middle step, the design step, is where most dentists get stuck.

You've got a few options. exocad, which many dentists simply don't want to learn. AI-powered CAD tools, which are still a bit scary for a lot of people. 3Shape's design software. Blender for dental applications. In a nutshell, they're all CAD software.

To cross the bridge from scanning to manufacturing, you either need to learn one of these tools, learn to use AI for design, or export your scans to a lab that designs them and returns the files for you to manufacture in-house.

What's particularly interesting is how few people talk about this openly. The industry makes it all sound simpler than it is. It's not incredibly complicated, but when you're starting out and designing your first crown or splint, it can be genuinely intimidating.

The 10% Problem

Here's a sobering reality.

Even after all the education, all the innovation, all the marketing, only about 10% of dentists do anything more than scan and send to a lab. The penetration rate of intraoral scanners in the US is around 60%. Milling machines sit at about 12%. Printers are a bit higher, but nowhere near mass market.

Most dentists who buy a scanner use it to replace impression material. That's it.

To be fair, that has value for the patient. But for you as a clinician, you're leaving a massive amount of potential on the table.

The ROI of digital dentistry doesn't come from simply replacing impressions. It comes from what you do after the scan: treatment planning, smile design, in-house manufacturing, patient communication, and faster turnaround times.

That's where the real return is.

It's an Exciting Time to Be a Dentist

Look, I want to leave you with this.

As much as digital dentistry can feel overwhelming and fast-moving, try to be inspired by it as well. Every year, sometimes every few months, there's something genuinely mind-blowing happening in our industry.

If you look at what our job is like now compared to 10 years ago, it's really incredible. New scanners, AI-driven design, smartphone face scanners, 3D-printed everything.

Try to ride the wave. Take it as an opportunity to upskill yourself and your team. Practice dentistry in a way that I genuinely believe is more predictable, better for patients, and honestly just more fun.

And if you're ever unsure about where to start, what to buy, or what to learn next, reach out. You can find me on Instagram, at iDD, or through any of our online training programs.

This is exactly why I built the Institute of Digital Dentistry in the first place. Because I was in the same position as you, frustrated and looking for honest, unbiased answers.

Digital dentistry isn't a specialty. It's the evolution of how we practice. And there's a path for everyone, no matter where you are in the journey.

This article is based on my conversation with Dr. Luken de Arbeloa on the DSD Quarterback Dentist podcast. Listen to the full episode on instituteofdigitaldentistry.com.