File formats.
If your scanner can export it, we can almost certainly open it. The more useful question is usually what to send alongside the geometry.
Open STL
STL is the common denominator — a plain surface mesh that every scanner exports and every design system opens. Send it where a portal transfer is not available or where you want to keep a copy locally.
What STL does not carry is colour or texture. That matters on cases where shade mapping or soft tissue appearance is part of the record, and it is one reason photographs remain valuable alongside a scan.
For a straightforward crown or bridge, STL is entirely sufficient.
Formats carrying more than geometry
PLY and OBJ carry colour information, which is useful where the scan is being used for shade reference or soft tissue assessment. DCM is 3Shape's native format and preserves more of the case data than an exported mesh.
Where your system offers a colour-carrying format and the case is aesthetically demanding, send it. Where the case is a posterior unit, STL is fine.
Send separate files for the preparation arch, the opposing arch and the bite rather than a single merged mesh, unless the portal handles that for you.
Portal transfers
iTero cases through MyiTero and TRIOS cases through 3Shape Communicate arrive as complete cases rather than loose files, with the scan, the case setup and any prescription entered in the software travelling together.
This is the preferred route where it is available, because it removes file handling and confirms delivery.
Medit, Primescan and CEREC, and Carestream have equivalent arrangements.
Photographs and documents
JPEG or PNG for clinical photographs, sent at full resolution and unedited. Do not colour-correct or brighten them — automatic enhancement on a phone does the same thing invisibly, and both destroy the tab-to-tooth relationship that made the image useful.
PDF for prescriptions, radiographs and any documentation. Where an implant case is involved, a photograph of the component packaging is worth more than a typed description.
File size and delivery
Full-arch scans can be large, and email attachments have size limits and no confirmation of delivery. Use the scanner portal where available or a secure transfer service.
Name files so they can be identified if they become separated from the case — patient identifier and arch at minimum. Files named with a default export string are a recurring source of confusion.
If in doubt, ask
There is very little we cannot open, and a two-minute call is quicker than sending something and waiting to find out.
Where a practice is adopting a new system or changing workflow, we would rather discuss the transfer method at the outset than troubleshoot it on a case with a deadline.
Archiving and remakes
A digital record persists in a way a stone model does not. It can be revisited, re-sent and reused, which changes what happens when something goes wrong months later.
If a restoration fractures a year on and the preparation is genuinely unchanged, a replacement can often be produced from the original scan without bringing the patient back for a fresh record.
The caveats matter: re-preparation, margin refinement, tissue recession or drift of the adjacent teeth all mean the archived file no longer describes the situation. Ask what the retention arrangement is before relying on it, and confirm the site is unchanged.
Trademarks
iTero is a trademark of Align Technology, Inc. TRIOS and 3Shape Communicate are trademarks of 3Shape A/S. Medit is a trademark of Medit Corp. CEREC and Primescan are trademarks of Dentsply Sirona. Carestream is a trademark of Carestream Dental LLC. Scanner names are used solely to indicate file compatibility.
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Send a case
Digital scans and conventional impressions are both accepted. Cases move by UPS and Purolator, and Fairmont works with practices throughout British Columbia and across Canada.