This guide is for dentists, dental technicians and students who need to open intraoral scans, review a lab’s crown design, approve an implant plan or exchange cases between clinic and lab, without buying a CAD licence. It is also for anyone searching for “free dental CAD software” and wondering what actually exists.
The short answer: full dental design software such as exocad DentalCAD and 3Shape Dental System is commercial, and there is no free full version of either. What is free, and legal, are the viewers and communication tools that the CAD makers publish: exocad webview for any STL, OBJ or PLY file, 3Shape Communicate for TRIOS and Dental System cases, and Simplant Viewer and Editor for Simplant implant plans. DentiqGuide lets you run a planning workflow before paying, and general open-source mesh tools cover STL inspection and repair.
The short list
| Program | Best for | Licence | Platforms | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| exocad webview | Opening STL, OBJ, PLY and DentalCAD exports on any device | Free | Web browser, Windows, iOS, Android | Active; iOS 1.6.22, September 2026 |
| 3Shape Communicate | Clinic–lab exchange for TRIOS and Dental System cases | Free account | Web browser, iOS, Android | Active; Unite 24.1+ users move to Unite Cloud |
| Simplant Viewer and Editor | Reviewing and approving Simplant implant plans | Free (cases come from a paid service) | Web browser, Windows, macOS | Available; Editor 3.1, installers dated 2019 |
| DentiqGuide | Trying implant planning and guide design from CBCT | Shareware (conditionally free) | Windows 10/11, 64-bit | Active; version 1.4.00 |
| DentalShaper | Maintaining an old Rhino 4 lab workstation | Shareware (conditionally free) | Windows (Rhino 4 plug-in) | Discontinued |
| MeshLab | Inspecting, cleaning and converting any STL or PLY | Free, open source (GPL 3.0) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Maintained; 2025.07 |
exocad webview: the free STL viewer from exocad
exocad webview is exocad GmbH’s own free viewer. It runs in a browser at webview.dental and as free apps for Windows (“exocad view” in the Microsoft Store), iPhone, iPad and Android. It opens STL, OBJ, PLY and several other mesh formats, keeps the colour of textured intraoral scans, loads several files at once (upper jaw, lower jaw, crown), and lets you make each mesh transparent. It also opens HTML scenes and zipped projects exported from DentalCAD, including annotations and password-protected scenes.
It is a viewer only. It cannot edit or repair meshes, does not list measuring tools and does not open DICOM. exocad does not describe it as a diagnostic tool. It is the first thing to install for anyone who receives STL files, whatever system made them, and it answers most “exocad viewer” searches.
3Shape Communicate: free clinic–lab portal
3Shape Communicate is a web portal and mobile app, not a desktop program. A clinic or lab signs in with a free 3Shape Account, connects to its partners, and then sends and receives scans, designs, order forms and comments. The built-in 3D viewer lets the dentist rotate a lab design and approve or reject it, including from the phone app. Labs running 3Shape Dental System receive Communicate orders directly in their CAD software.
The limits: it only makes sense if one side of the workflow uses 3Shape products, it stores patient data in the cloud (3Shape states HIPAA and GDPR compliance), and 3Shape says TRIOS customers on Unite 24.1 and newer use Unite Cloud instead. Whether you can download the raw STL depends on how the sender shared the case.
Simplant Viewer and Simplant Editor: implant plan review
Simplant Viewer and Simplant Editor are Dentsply Sirona’s free tools for the Simplant Planning Service. The web-based Viewer (also on iPad and iPhone) shows the proposed implants on CBCT slices and 3D reconstructions, with collision warnings for implants and the nerve. The desktop Editor 3.1 for Windows and Mac adds measurements of bone width and height and lets you swap an implant within the same product line before approving the plan and releasing the guide for manufacturing.
There is no “demo” edition and no self-planning: both tools open only cases prepared by Dentsply Sirona, and the planning service and guides are paid. The published OS requirements are old, so check a new machine with Simplant support. Pick it only if you order Simplant guides.
DentiqGuide: implant planning you can try first
DentiqGuide from 3D Industrial Imaging (Seoul) is full implant planning and surgical guide design software. It aligns CBCT with an intraoral or model scan, marks the mandibular nerve canal with AI assistance, reconstructs a panoramic view, places the planned crown first and positions implants from a library under it, then designs the guide.
It is shareware (conditionally free): the vendor lets you use the free version temporarily without a licence, but exporting or printing the guide and reports needs the paid version, so it cannot produce a guide for a real patient on its own. It runs on 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 only and asks for 16 GB of RAM. It is a sensible way to test a planning workflow with the vendor’s demo case before buying.
DentalShaper: discontinued Rhino plug-in
DentalShaper by CIMsystem is still searched as “Dental Shaper Lite”, but no Lite or free edition has ever been verified. It was a commercial plug-in for Rhinoceros 4 on Windows, announced in 2010 and sold with a trial. It imported native files from scanner and CAD systems of that era, added implant interfaces, built crowns and sectioned models from scans, and exported STL for milling.
It no longer appears in CIMsystem’s product line, it needs a licensed copy of Rhino 4, and later Rhino versions were never confirmed. Treat it as discontinued: relevant only if your lab still runs an old Rhino 4 and SUM3D Dental workstation.
General STL tools: MeshLab, Blender, Meshmixer
For a plain “STL viewer”, or when you need to fix a scan before printing a model, general mesh tools work well. None of them is dental software, and none replaces a dental CAD system. They are not in our catalogue; the facts below come from their official sites.
- MeshLab is free and open source (GPL 3.0), developed at the Visual Computing Lab of ISTI-CNR, for Windows, macOS and Linux. It inspects, cleans, repairs and converts meshes and prepares models for 3D printing. The current release is 2025.07.
- Blender is free and open source (GPL) for Windows, macOS and Linux; version 5.2.2 LTS was released in September 2026. It is a full 3D suite, powerful but with a steep learning curve for simple viewing.
- Meshmixer from Autodesk is still offered free, with hole filling, smoothing, plane cuts, hollowing and 3D measurements. Autodesk states that it is no longer in development and will not be supported going forward.
What about full dental CAD software?
Crown, bridge, denture and implant-bar design needs a commercial system. exocad DentalCAD is sold through authorised resellers and runs on Windows; 3Shape Dental System is also commercial. No free full version of either is offered by the vendors, and “free download” copies are pirated. Our article Is there a free exocad DentalCAD download? explains the legal options, including exocad’s student licences.
How to choose
- You only need to look at a scan or a design. Use exocad webview in the browser or on a phone. Nothing to install, no account.
- Your lab or clinic partner uses TRIOS or Dental System. Create a free 3Shape Account and connect in 3Shape Communicate; on Unite 24.1 or newer, ask your partner about Unite Cloud.
- You ordered a Simplant guide. Review it in Simplant Viewer, and install Simplant Editor if you need measurements or an implant size change.
- You want to plan implants yourself. Test DentiqGuide’s free version on the demo case, then decide whether a paid planning licence fits your practice.
- You need to repair or convert a mesh. Use MeshLab; move to Blender only if you need real modelling.
- You need to design restorations. Budget for a commercial CAD licence through a reseller, or a student licence if you qualify.
FAQ
Is 3Shape Communicate free?
Yes. Dentists and labs create a Communicate account at no cost with a free 3Shape Account. The TRIOS scanners and 3Shape design software that create the cases are paid products.
Is there a free exocad viewer?
Yes. exocad webview is free, needs no registration, and runs in a browser, on Windows and on iOS and Android. DentalCAD, the design software, is not free.
What is the best free STL viewer for dental scans?
exocad webview, because it keeps scan colours, opens several jaws and restorations together and works on phones. For repairing or converting files, MeshLab is the better tool.
Is there free dental CAD software?
Not for full restoration design. The free tools are viewers, communication portals and plan reviewers. DentiqGuide lets you try implant planning without a licence, but export needs the paid version.
Can I use 3Shape Communicate on a PC?
Yes, in any current browser at the Communicate portal. There is no desktop installer; phones and tablets use the free app.
Does exocad webview work on a Mac?
There is no separate macOS app, but the web version at webview.dental runs in Safari, Chrome or Firefox on a Mac.
Last updated: 26 September 2026 · Dents-Soft editorial team. Licence, version and platform details are checked against each developer's official documentation; none of the tools listed here should be treated as a certified medical device unless its vendor says so.
