Copenhagen-based H3D has announced it is developing dental AI CAD in partnership with Modern Dental Pacific, Andent, and Orthodonzia Estense. H3D’s entry into dental follows their strong success in the audio industry where they have become the AI CAD market leader.
Mimicking their successful approach in Audio, H3D are focusing on dental labs rather than clinics. The company’s motto is “built with labs, for labs”, and there is a strong emphasis on quality. This is welcome news for dental labs, who have been increasingly neglected as dental CAD companies prioritize clinics and chairside.
“Labs are the gold standard in terms of quality levels, and our ambition is to create the world’s best AI CAD, so partnering with them was a natural choice for us,” says Damian Png, Dental BU Director at H3D.
The strategy is certainly working in the Audio industry. H3D’s AI CAD boasts an order acceptance rate of >90%, enthusiastic product reviews, and a 100% customer retention rate. They work with iconic brands, such as Sennheiser, Amplifon, and Formlabs. Such customer fanfare is in stark contrast to existing AI CAD solutions in dental, who have a reputation for poor quality and consistency.
“H3D’s AI CAD designs look very promising—high quality standards, fast turnaround times, and competitive pricing,” explains Matt Smith, General Manager at Andent.
Labs see H3D’s AI CAD as a solution to the labor shortage of CAD technicians, which will ultimately help them scale their businesses. Currently, CAD takes x1 CAD technician 10-20 minutes per order. However, there is an industry-wide shortage of CAD technicians, so labs are forced to reject new business.
“H3D's AI CAD has the potential to be hugely impactful for our industry. It will enable us to significantly increase our production and overcome the capacity issues caused by the shortage of CAD designers. It will also facilitate the transition from thermoformed to digital splints, resulting in better quality products for dentists and patients,” says James Squirrell, CEO of Modern Dental Pacific.
With H3D’s AI CAD, hundreds of orders can be processed within 5 minutes. It’s been intentionally designed to be so simple that it can be operated by lab staff who aren’t CAD technicians.
“I started working on 3D digital technology in 2009, and it changed the whole game—staffing, quality consistency, speed, costs—and it’s clear that AI CAD is the industry’s next big innovation,” says Stefano Negrini, KOL and CEO of Ortodonzia Estense.
As the dental industry continues to embrace digital dentistry, H3D sees AI CAD further accelerating the trend towards intraoral scanners and 3D printing.
“We’re regularly approached by 3D Printing companies, IoS companies and resellers. For them, CAD is holding back the industry, so solving this bottleneck is hugely important,” says Iain Mcleod, CEO at H3D.
H3D’s AI CAD for splints will be released in Q3 2023, with crowns, dentures and aligners following shortly. The company is currently accepting expressions of interest for their Innovators program, which provides early access to the AI CAD product, as well as discounted pricing.
