Dentsply Sirona Sidexis 4

Sidexis 4 is Dentsply Sirona’s imaging software for dental practices that use Orthophos, Axeos, Galileos or Xios and Schick sensors: it acquires, stores, displays and exports 2D and 3D X-rays in one program. It is commercial software that needs a Sidexis 4 licence, but Dentsply Sirona also ships a free, read-only Sidexis 4 Viewer on the patient discs that Sidexis 4 creates, which is what most people mean when they search for a “Sidexis viewer free download”.

If you are looking for a “Sidexis 4 download”, note that Dentsply Sirona offers the full installer to licensed practices and expects installation with your dealer and IT support. Below: what the program and the free viewer do, the current release, and what to check before installing.

Sidexis 4 at a glance

What it does

• Acquires and manages intraoral, panoramic, cephalometric and CBCT images from Dentsply Sirona devices such as Orthophos XG, Orthophos SL/S/E, Axeos, Galileos, Xios XG and Schick 33, AE and Elite sensors.
• Shows 2D and 3D X-rays in the same program, so you can diagnose a panoramic image and a volume without switching software.
• Lightbox: collects X-rays, intraoral scans, photographs and PDFs of one patient in one workspace, with a Compare mode for side-by-side review.
• 3D tools for volumes, including a panoramic curve editor that can adapt the curve to preset dentition shapes or be edited by hand.
• Exports in several ways: 2D image export, e-mail, “DICOM Export Wrap&Go” (a DVD with the images plus the free viewer), DICOM examination export, volume export for third-party DICOM software, DICOM report export and face scan (OBJ) export.
• Implant workflows: crown-down planning together with CEREC and SICAT Implant, and access to Simplant Planning Services.
• Connects to DS Core, Dentsply Sirona’s cloud platform, for storing and sharing files with colleagues through a web-based X-ray viewer.

How dental teams use it

Send a CBCT or pan to a referring dentist

1. Open the patient and the examinations you want to share.
2. Go to the “Output” work phase and click “DICOM Export Wrap&Go”.
3. Sidexis 4 exports the open examinations in a DICOM-compatible format and adds the Sidexis 4 Viewer; burn the DVD with the Windows burning tool.
4. Tell the recipient to run “Start Sidexis 4 Viewer.exe” from the disc.

Open a Sidexis disc you received

1. Insert the disc on a Windows PC and run “Start Sidexis 4 Viewer.exe”.
2. If Microsoft .NET Framework is missing, accept the prompt to install it.
3. Check the system requirements link, accept the licence terms and click “Install”.
4. The viewer imports the cases automatically (this can take several minutes) and opens them in the Lightbox. If full Sidexis 4 is already installed, the data opens there instead.

Hand a volume to third-party planning software

1. Enable “Volume for third party manufacturer (DICOM)” in the export options of the system menu.
2. Open the volume, go to “Output” and run the DICOM examination export to a folder.
3. Import that folder into your planning or segmentation software.

Install and first run

• Windows only. Sidexis 4 runs on Windows workstations and servers. Dentsply Sirona publishes separate minimum requirements for 2D and 3D stations; 3D work benefits from a dedicated graphics card, more RAM and an SSD.
• Licence first. Dentsply Sirona states that installing Sidexis 4.4 requires a Sidexis 4 V4.4 licence. The installer is about 3 GB.
• Use a dealer and IT. The vendor asks practices to complete a site survey and schedule the installation with their dealer rather than install alone. A client/server setup uses shared PDATA and PDATASEC folders and an SQL Server 2017 Express instance named SIDEXIS_SQL.
• Back up before upgrading. Upgrading to 4.4 permanently converts the data, so make a verified backup first.
• Check devices. Orthophos S and SL need firmware update 3.0 or later before 4.4; older intraoral sensor plugins are not compatible and need IOSS 3.0; some older sensors, Orthophos DS, Galileos Implant and older Sidexis iX versions are no longer supported.

Limitations

• No macOS or Linux version of Sidexis 4 or of the Sidexis 4 Viewer.
• The viewer is intentionally limited: it cannot export media, connect to X-ray units or scanners, delete patients or images, link to practice management software (SLIDA), connect to GALILEOS Implant or to a clinical PACS.
• Full Sidexis 4 is tied to a licence and, in practice, to Dentsply Sirona hardware and dealer support.
• Major upgrades change the database and need planning; data conversion cannot be undone without a backup.
• The iPad app Sidexis iX only works with a practice’s own Sidexis server component; it is not a way for patients to view their images.

Sidexis 4 vs alternatives

Each large X-ray vendor has its own acquisition suite, and the right choice usually follows your hardware. DEXIS Imaging Suite fills the same role for DEXIS sensors, Carestream Dental CS Imaging for Carestream units, and older Gendex installations still run VixWin Platinum. Sidexis 4 stands out for its tight integration with CEREC, SICAT Implant and Dentsply Sirona treatment centres. If you only need to open DICOM files that someone sent you, a general viewer such as Sante DICOM Viewer or Mango can be enough; for dedicated CBCT reading and implant planning, compare it with OnDemand3D.

FAQ

Is there a free Sidexis 4 download?

The full Sidexis 4 installer is provided to licensed practices, and installation needs a Sidexis 4 licence. The free part is the Sidexis 4 Viewer, which comes on patient discs exported with “DICOM Export Wrap&Go”.

Is there a Sidexis viewer for Mac?

No. Both Sidexis 4 and the Sidexis 4 Viewer are Windows programs. On a Mac you would need a Windows computer or a Windows virtual machine, or ask the practice for a plain DICOM export that a Mac DICOM viewer can open.

How do I start the Sidexis viewer from a CD?

Open the disc in File Explorer and run “Start Sidexis 4 Viewer.exe”. It installs the viewer if needed, then imports and displays the cases automatically.

What are the Sidexis 4 system requirements?

Sidexis 4 needs Windows and uses Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Express. Dentsply Sirona publishes a separate installation requirements document for version 4.4 with minimums for 2D and 3D stations; check it, or complete the vendor’s site survey, before buying hardware.

What is the latest Sidexis version?

The current download offered by Dentsply Sirona is Sidexis 4.4.1.2, released on 7 December 2023.

Can the Sidexis viewer open CBCT scans?

Yes. The viewer displays the X-ray images and findings included on the disc, including 3D volumes, in the same way as Sidexis 4, but with editing, export and device functions removed.

Last checked against official sources: 28 September 2026 (developer website: dentsplysirona.com). Versions and licence terms change — confirm on the developer's site before deploying in a clinic.