exocad Review

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What Is exocad?

exocad is a dental CAD/CAM software platform used to design dental restorations digitally. Its flagship product, DentalCAD, is used by dental laboratories and increasingly by in-office digital workflows to design crowns, bridges, inlays, onlays, veneers, implant abutments, dentures, surgical guides, orthodontic appliances, and more.

Founded in 2010 as a spinoff from Germany's Fraunhofer Institute (a leading applied research organization), exocad was built by engineers who understood that dental labs needed flexibility. Unlike closed-system CAD software tied to specific hardware, exocad's open architecture works with virtually any intraoral scanner, desktop scanner, milling machine, or 3D printer. That openness is why it became the global standard.

Align Technology acquired exocad in April 2020 for approximately EUR 376 million, integrating it into their digital dentistry portfolio alongside Invisalign and iTero scanners. Despite the acquisition, exocad has maintained its open-platform philosophy.

The current release is DentalCAD 3.3 Chemnitz, with continuous improvements in automation, AI-assisted design, and workflow efficiency.

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Key Features

DentalCAD (Core Product)

The main restoration design software. Handles single crowns, bridges, inlays/onlays, veneers, implant abutments, custom abutments, screw-retained restorations, temporary restorations, and more. Known for its intuitive interface and fast design workflow -- experienced technicians can design a single crown in under five minutes.

Smile Creator

Chairside and lab-side smile design tool. Import a patient photo, overlay a digital design, and visualize the planned restorations in the context of the patient's face. Valuable for case presentations and patient communication.

PartialCAD

Dedicated module for designing removable partial denture frameworks. The 3.3 Chemnitz release introduced a highly automated split denture workflow.

Full Denture Module

Design complete dentures digitally, including gingival contours, tooth arrangement, and try-in workflows. Supports 3D-printed and milled denture production.

Implant Module

Design custom implant abutments, screw-retained crowns, and implant bars. Supports major implant systems and integrates with guided surgery planning.

ChairsideCAD

Simplified version of DentalCAD designed for chairside same-day dentistry. Streamlined workflows for single-visit restorations using CEREC-style workflows but with exocad's open-platform flexibility.

Open Architecture

Works with 100+ scanner brands, all major milling machines, and every 3D printer. No hardware lock-in. This is exocad's defining advantage over closed systems.

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Pricing

exocad offers two licensing models:

• Flex License (subscription): Base DentalCAD starts at approximately $3,000-$6,500 depending on the reseller, with annual renewal fees around $3,750/year for the Ultimate Bundle
• Perpetual License: One-time purchase starting at approximately $13,000+ for the Ultimate Lab Bundle, with no mandatory renewal fees
• Add-on modules (Smile Creator, PartialCAD, Full Denture, Implant Module) are priced separately

Pricing varies by reseller and region. exocad sells exclusively through authorized resellers, not direct.

Our advice: Start with the Flex license to test the software before committing to perpetual. Ask your reseller about bundled pricing that includes the modules you'll actually use. The Ultimate Bundle covers most lab needs.

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Pros

• Industry standard -- the most widely used dental CAD software globally
• Open architecture works with any scanner, mill, or 3D printer
• Intuitive, fast design workflow -- minimal clicks to complete restorations
• Comprehensive product range from single crowns to full dentures to implants
• Backed by Align Technology with continued investment and development

Cons

• Significant upfront cost -- $3,000-$13,000+ depending on license model
• Desktop-only -- no cloud or web version, requires Windows
• Learning curve for new users despite the intuitive interface -- dental CAD is inherently complex
• Sold only through resellers -- pricing and support quality depend on your reseller
• No direct practice management integration -- it's CAD software, not a PMS add-on

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The Bottom Line

exocad is the Adobe Photoshop of dental CAD -- the industry standard that most professionals use and everything else is compared against. Its open architecture is the key differentiator: you choose your scanner, your mill, your 3D printer, and exocad ties them all together. No hardware lock-in means you're free to upgrade individual components without replacing your entire digital workflow.

For dental laboratories, DentalCAD is essentially a must-have. For dental practices exploring chairside CAD/CAM or in-house milling, exocad's ChairsideCAD offers the same open-platform flexibility without the full lab workflow complexity. The pricing is meaningful -- this isn't a $99/month subscription -- but for a lab processing dozens of cases daily, the ROI is measured in days, not months.

If you're evaluating CAD software, exocad is the benchmark. Compare everything else to it, not the other way around.