Institute of Digital Dentistry

Institute of Digital Dentistry The Institute of Digital Dentistry is New Zealand’s first CAD/CAM-specific training institute and sta Enter iDD Online.

The Institute of Digital Dentistry (iDD) is New Zealand’s first CAD/CAM and Digital Dentistry specific training centre, and online training platform. iDD stands for advanced, innovative and cutting-edge training in digital dentistry. We want to bring together dental professionals that are passionate about digital dentistry and its possibilities. One of our aims is to promote and teach the many facets of digital dentistry and how it can revolutionize your practice and make dentistry more enjoyable and insightful for you and your patients. The team at iDD are general dentists and multi-practice owners with a passion for digital dentistry. We were early adopters of CAD/CAM and first invested in this technology over 10 years ago. As some of the few in the world with knowledge and experience of all scanners on the market, this gives us a unique position which as been recognized by industry and dental professionals globally. Across our clinics we own and have used a range of scanners including CEREC Primescan, TRIOS, Medit, Itero, Planmeca, Runyes, WOW, Heron and the list goes on and on. We also have advanced experience with all CAD software including CEREC, Inlab, 3Shape Design Studio and exocad. On top of this is our range of milling machines and 3D printers all in-house. All of this technology has been purchased without sponsorship, and we remain unwaveringly committed to being an unbiased and trustworthy source of information. Our goal is to help our colleagues within the dental profession to take the first steps into the digital world. iDD Online has evolved from the Institute of Digital Dentistry. Through our work with dental professionals and our ever-growing global online community, we’ve learned it’s prohibitively difficult to source unbiased, up-to-the-minute information about digital dentistry. What has become clear over the years is that we cannot rely on sales reps and KOL's for objective information. Our mission is to ensure everyone globally, has easy and affordable access to the best digital dentistry training possible. To achieve this, we’re providing dental professionals from all corners of the world with the knowledge and confidence to use digital dentistry effectively and efficiently. The digital workflow is revolutionizing the dentistry profession, and those who embrace these techniques will go far. It’s important to us that our dental colleagues have fair, objective information about scanners and CAD/CAM technology. With this, they can make informed decisions and build knowledge specific to their needs and priorities, without the pressures of sales reps or brand-orientated content.

17/09/2026

Still scanning abutments for implant crowns? That ship has sailed.

Dr. Ahmad Al-Hassiny explains why abutment-level scanning has fallen out of use. The margin usually sits subgingival or equigingival, which makes it genuinely hard to capture cleanly for a well-fitting crown. Scanbodies solved that, and they're now the standard approach.

How to access your free course:
1️⃣ Visit https://idd.to/alliedstar
2️⃣ Click "Register for Sensa"
3️⃣ Enter your Sensa serial number to unlock access

When did you last scan an abutment?

17/09/2026

$6,000 USD versus $10,995 USD. That is the Ceramix-Nano next to the SprintRay Midas, and it is the first capsule printer to get real mainstream attention since Midas launched.

Dr. Ahmad's take is that the price gap is not the interesting part. The promise with both machines is permanent restorations, and the size, automation and cloud workflow only matter if the resin delivers.

For posterior crowns, that means wear resistance, stain resistance and translucency. Impressive hardware, but it remains a resin game.

Full Ceramix-Nano unboxing is live on the channel.

You bought the scanner. It's doing study models and the occasional crown 🦷That's not a you problem. Most practices go di...
17/09/2026

You bought the scanner. It's doing study models and the occasional crown 🦷

That's not a you problem. Most practices go digital one tool at a time, and end up with software that doesn't talk to itself and a workflow with more steps than the analog one it replaced.

On Thursday 22 October I'm in Vancouver to walk through the complete digital workflow, first scan through to full-arch. Scanning, treatment planning, CAD design, and the full-arch cases that break most setups.

I'll also be straight with you about where AI genuinely helps right now and where it's still mostly marketing.

📆 6pm to 9pm at SkyCAD Dental Technology in Vancouver (Burnaby)
🌐 $99 CAD + HST, dinner included, 3 CE points.

Medit and SkyCAD Dental are sponsoring the evening.
The room holds 50. Register at idd.to/future-of-dentistry-vancouver

17/09/2026

Aligner scans demand more than your average scan.

Dr. Ahmad Al-Hassiny's take: aligners are fabricated to fit precisely over every tooth, so any missing data or moisture-caused concavity can mean a poor fit. Watch the embrasures, where saliva pools. Those interproximal areas are critical, so control the soft tissue and dry them well before you scan.

Free for Sensa owners. Nine hours of CPD/CE in the Ultimate Intraoral Scanning Certification (Alliedstar Sensa Edition).

How to access your free course:
1️⃣ Visit https://idd.to/alliedstar
2️⃣ Click "Register for Sensa"
3️⃣ Enter your Sensa serial number to unlock access

Do you scan differently for aligner cases?

16/09/2026

Still reaching for scan spray? You probably don't need it.

Dr. Ahmad Al-Hassiny says the powders and sprays are largely a thing of the past with current scanners, thanks to better tolerance for reflective surfaces. If a shiny surface does give you trouble, the fix is free: change your scanning angle so the reflected light bounces away instead of straight back into the scanner.

How to access your free course:
1️⃣ Visit https://idd.to/alliedstar
2️⃣ Click "Register for Sensa"
3️⃣ Enter your Sensa serial number to unlock access

When did you last use scan spray?

16/09/2026

Dr. Ahmad Al-Hassiny has now placed close to a hundred printed resin restorations across a range of different resins, and he is upfront that he did not rush into it.

The one and two year recalls are coming back, and his honest read is that they look better than he expected. On one case he had to double-take the X-ray to work out whether he was looking at resin or ceramic.

He is still clear that the profession needs long-term data before this goes mainstream. His view is that it's a time problem more than a materials problem.

🎙️Watch the full episode on the Digital Dentistry Decoded podcast.
🔗 https://instituteofdigitaldentistry.com/podcast/ep54-why-materials-drive-everything-in-dental-3d-printing/

16/09/2026

LumiCera is already available in a handful of Vita shades. BL, A1, A2, B1 and C2.

Translucency is the known limitation in this current form. Low translucency is what ships now, with MT and HT versions still in development.

Dr. Ahmad spoke with Da Chen from Shining 3D's R&D department on the iDD podcast about exactly this, including the limitations the team is aware of and how they plan to address them.

Full Ceramix-Nano unboxing is live on the channel.

16/09/2026

Finishing the scan doesn't mean it's ready for the lab.

Dr. Ahmad Al-Hassiny stops to inspect and spots soft tissue creeping over the distal lingual of the prep. Yes, the lab can digitally remove it, but that's guesswork, and your job is to hand over the best data possible. His fix: back into the mouth, pack more cord, retract better, control the bleeding, then clean up with the software's editing tools.

Free for Sensa owners. Nine hours of CPD/CE in the Ultimate Intraoral Scanning Certification (Alliedstar Sensa Edition).

How to access your free course:
1️⃣ Visit https://idd.to/alliedstar
2️⃣ Click "Register for Sensa"
3️⃣ Enter your Sensa serial number to unlock access

Do you inspect before you send?

15/09/2026

Can a scanner really capture a deep subgingival margin?

Dr. Ahmad Al-Hassiny's answer is yes. Modern scanners, the Alliedstar Sensa included, see well past the two, three, even four millimeters subgingival you meet in practice. Depth isn't the limiting factor. The real challenge with deep preps is managing the soft tissue around them.

How to access your free course:
1️⃣ Visit https://idd.to/alliedstar
2️⃣ Click "Register for Sensa"
3️⃣ Enter your Sensa serial number to unlock access

Where do your deep-margin scans usually fall apart?

15/09/2026

Dr Bhavin Bhatt is clear about the line AI will not cross. It can analyse data, track teeth and predict movements from a risk profile. What it cannot do is look a nervous patient in the eye and make them feel genuinely held.

It will not think to change an aligner plan midcourse because a patient is now pregnant, or ease off because you have spotted early gingival inflammation, or explain a bite in a way that leaves someone feeling trusted and cared for. Only you can do that. AI, in his view, is not there to replace you but to augment you, freeing you up for the human side, the empathy and the connection.

📥️ Course details: idd.to/asde

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