A patient hands you a disc or a USB stick from another practice. It holds dental X-rays or a CBCT scan, you do not own the vendor’s imaging software, and the practice that sent it is closed for the day. Good news: the major vendors put a free, read-only viewer on their exported media, and for everything else there is a standard DICOM route. The only real task is to recognise whose disc it is.
The short answer: open the disc in File Explorer on a Windows PC and look at the file names. A launcher named Start Sidexis 4 Viewer.exe means Dentsply Sirona; ViewData.exe means Carestream; a Simple Viewer Launcher means Vatech; a lone .inv file means Invivo. If nothing runs, or you are on a Mac, ask for a DICOM export and open it in a free general viewer. Status: Not tested yet — we have read the vendors’ documentation, we have not run these discs in a clinic. Vendor pages checked on 26 October 2026.
Identify the disc in one minute
| What you see on the disc | Vendor / software | What opens it | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
Start Sidexis 4 Viewer.exe | Dentsply Sirona, Sidexis 4 | Sidexis 4 Viewer from the disc (free, read-only) | Windows |
ViewData.exe and a Data folder | Carestream Dental, CS 3D Imaging | CS 3D Imaging Lite, installed from the media | Windows |
| “Simple Viewer Launcher” | Vatech, Ez3D-i / Ez3D Plus | Simple Viewer (Original) or Simple Viewer Lite | Windows |
One file ending in .inv | Invivo (Anatomage, now Osteoid) | Invivo Workspace in a browser, or a DICOM re-export | Browser / Windows |
Folder of .dcm files, maybe a DICOMDIR | Any vendor, standard DICOM | Any DICOM viewer | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| JPEG, PNG or TIFF images | 2D exports | Any image viewer | Any |
Dentsply Sirona: Sidexis 4
When a practice uses “DICOM Export Wrap&Go” in Sidexis 4, the DVD carries the Sidexis 4 Viewer. Run Start Sidexis 4 Viewer.exe, accept the .NET Framework prompt if it appears, install, and the cases import into a lightbox. The viewer is read-only: it cannot export media, connect to X-ray units or link to practice software. It is Windows only. The full walk-through is in How to Open Sidexis Images Without Sidexis.
Carestream Dental: CS 3D Imaging
Carestream’s CBCT export puts CS 3D Imaging Lite on the CD or USB key. Run ViewData.exe from the root of the CD, or from the export folder on the USB key next to the Data folder; if Lite is missing, the installer runs first, which needs install rights on that PC. Older CS 9000 discs carry Setup3DViewer.exe instead. Lite is for review and measuring, not implant planning. Details: Carestream CS 3D Imaging Viewer: Opening a CBCT Disc; the parent product is CS Imaging 8.
Vatech: Ez3D-i and Ez3D Plus
Vatech’s guide for Ez3D-i exports (version 5.0.2 or newer) says to run the Simple Viewer Launcher from the data folder, then choose a viewer on the splash screen. The Original viewer needs a PC graphics card that meets Vatech’s requirements. If yours does not, choose Simple Viewer Lite, which Vatech says wants an NVIDIA GeForce GT 720 or better, shows only simple DICOM, and does not show the sender’s case work-up. If a matching Ez3D Plus CD viewer is not installed, an installer runs first; let it finish before touching anything else. Older discs come from Ez3D Plus, which Vatech no longer supports.
Invivo (.inv files)
An .inv file is not DICOM with a different extension, and ordinary viewers reject it. The old free InVivoDental Viewer is legacy software that its developer no longer offers. Osteoid, which has run the dental line since 2021, offers Invivo Workspace, whose viewer opens in a browser tab with no software to install. The other clean way out is to ask the sender for a multi-file DICOM re-save. Both routes, and the egg-file trap for older Invivo versions, are in InVivoDental Viewer Is Gone: How to Open .inv Files Today. Check your privacy policy before uploading a patient’s scan to any cloud service.
DEXIS discs
DEXIS Imaging Suite is Windows software for 2D images. We could not confirm a current, publicly documented viewer for recipients of a DEXIS export; DEXIS’s own page describes DEXview 3D as a tool inside the DEXIS application, not as something for outside recipients. So do not guess. If the disc has no obvious launcher, ask the sender for a DICOM or standard image export and open that with a general viewer.
The universal fallback: ask for DICOM
If the vendor viewer will not start, you are on a Mac, the PC is locked down, or the disc has no viewer at all, ask the sending practice for a DICOM export of the study. For a 3D scan, ask for the whole volume as multi-file DICOM and, if your viewer wants it, a DICOMDIR index. Then open the folder in Sante DICOM Viewer, which has a free Lite edition for Windows and macOS, or in OnDemand3D if you want dental planning views on a Windows PC. More options are compared in our hub of free dental DICOM viewers and PACS tools.
One caveat applies everywhere: a plain DICOM export carries the images, not the sender’s planning work (nerve tracings, implant positions). If the referral depends on a plan, ask for a report or screenshots as well.
Which route should you take
- Look at the disc in File Explorer. Match the launcher name to the table above.
- On Windows with install rights, run the vendor launcher. It is the fastest route and shows the case as the sender prepared it.
- On a Mac, a locked-down workstation, or after a failed launcher, request a DICOM export.
- For a single
.invfile, use Invivo Workspace or request DICOM. - Treat every viewer as a review tool. Carestream, for one, states that 3D rendering must not be used for diagnosis and must be confirmed on the slices; follow each vendor’s own warnings.
FAQ
How do I open a dental X-ray disc without the original software?
Open the disc in File Explorer and run the viewer launcher the vendor placed there, such as Start Sidexis 4 Viewer.exe, ViewData.exe or the Vatech Simple Viewer Launcher. If there is none, ask for a DICOM export.
Can I open a CBCT disc on a Mac?
The vendor viewers described here run on Windows. On a Mac, ask for a DICOM export and use a DICOM viewer that supports macOS, such as the free Lite edition of Sante DICOM Viewer.
Why does the disc not start automatically?
Autorun is turned off on many managed PCs. Browse the disc in File Explorer and start the launcher by hand. On a locked-down machine you may need your IT contact to allow the installer.
Is the viewer on the disc free?
The viewers on exported media are meant for recipients to review the case; the full imaging programs are commercial. Think of it as shareware (conditionally free): the viewer costs nothing for viewing, the planning software is licensed.
What if the disc is only a single .inv file?
It is an Invivo case. Open it in Invivo Workspace, or ask the sender to re-save the scan as multi-file DICOM.
What does a DICOM export not include?
Mostly the sender’s annotations and implant plans. The images arrive; the planning work stays in the vendor’s own formats.
Last updated: 26 October 2026 · SoftProDents 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.
