Free Intraoral Scanner Programs Compared: What to Check Before You Sign

The offer sounds simple: a new intraoral scanner at no cost, in exchange for sending your lab work to one lab. Then the agreement arrives. What counts toward the minimum? What happens in a slow month, or when you leave? Who pays for software after year one, and who holds your scans?

Below are ten points to check, with 3Shape TRIOS as the example because 3Shape publishes its plan terms. We close by answering the same checklist for our own TRIOS program.

Quick Answer

Before you sign a free scanner program, get the full written agreement and check ten points: the monthly minimum and what counts toward it, the shortfall charge, term and exit, who owns the scanner, who pays for software and service plans after year one, warranty and loaners, who controls the cloud account and exports, training, which labs you may use, and taxes and insurance. If a term is not in writing, ask before you commit.

What Does "Free" Mean in a Scanner Program?

In a lab scanner program, the lab provides the scanner and the practice commits to a monthly volume of lab work instead of paying for the device. The scanner still has a cost; the agreement decides who carries it.

The Federal Trade Commission's guide on the word "free", written for advertised offers, is a useful standard: all terms of a free offer should be stated clearly and conspicuously at the outset, and a buyer may expect the seller not to recover the free item's cost through higher prices on what must be bought. Read the full agreement and compare program and regular case prices.

What Should You Check Before You Sign?

Answer each row in writing before you sign.

How Do Monthly Minimums and Shortfalls Work?

What counts toward the minimum

Get the definition in writing: dollars or cases, counted by order, ship or invoice date. Ask whether remakes, rush fees, shipping, credits, aligners and night guards count. If some cases go elsewhere, check the minimum is reachable without them.

Short months and case prices

Ask whether a shortfall is billed as the difference, averaged over months, or ends the program, and compare the program's fee schedule with standard prices. A scanner paid for through higher case prices is a purchase by another name.

Who Owns the Scanner, and How Do You Exit?

Lease, loan or purchase

If title stays with the provider, you generally cannot sell or trade in the scanner, and unless the agreement offers a buyout, it goes back when the program ends. Taxes differ too: under IRS Publication 946, a business that leases property generally cannot depreciate it, because it lacks the incidents of ownership. Ask your accountant how program charges are treated.

Term, exit and damage

Find the term, automatic renewal, notice period and any exit fee. Ask who pays return shipping, the required condition, and what happens if you sell the practice or the scanning dentist leaves. If you are responsible for damage, loss or theft, ask your insurer whether your policy covers equipment you do not own.

Who Pays for Software, Warranty and Service After Year One?

On 3Shape's current terms, the first year of TRIOS Care is included in the scanner's purchase price for new TRIOS customers. After that, TRIOS Care is a yearly contract, even if paid monthly. You can downgrade at no charge to TRIOS Only, a free scan-ready plan, from 90 days before the first renewal. If it is neither renewed nor downgraded, the licenses are revoked and scanning stops.

The warranty lapses while TRIOS Care is canceled or downgraded (rejoining reactivates it until the scanner is five years old), and TRIOS Care does not cover third-party PCs; a laptop falls under its maker's warranty. Ask who pays for repairs after year one, who covers the computer, and whether you get a loaner; other manufacturers have their own plans.

Who Controls Your Scans and Patient Data?

In 3Shape Unite 24.1 and later, subscriptions belong to a 3Shape Account company, and with cloud storage enabled, its scans, patients, cases, media and settings go to the cloud. Ask whose account will hold your work before the first scan.

Unite exports scans as STL, without color, or PLY, in adapted colors, at the same quality as 3Shape's own DCM format.

Record-keeping duties do not stop with the program. New York requires patient records to be retained for at least six years, and records of minor patients until at least one year after the patient turns 21; New Jersey, at least seven years from the last entry, and at least three years from the date the model is made for diagnostic and study models used for definitive treatment. Other states set their own periods, so confirm current requirements with your state board or attorney. Before a scanner or its computer goes back, export and archive what you need.

What About Training and Which Labs You Can Use?

Ask who trains the team. In 3Shape's description, TRIOS Care includes a 3-month onboarding plan with a dedicated customer success manager. Ask whether the program adds training of its own, including for new staff.

Ask whether the agreement expects every case or only the minimum, and confirm in writing that the scanner can send to your aligner company or a specialist's lab. Our guide on how to send a scan to a dental lab shows how each major scanner connects.

How Does Our TRIOS Program Answer These Checks?

Elegant Dental Laboratory is an authorized 3Shape partner. We provide new TRIOS 3 Wired and TRIOS 6 Wireless scanners to new and existing clients across the United States. Delivery takes 2 to 3 weeks after approval. Where the table says "ask us", call 877-335-5221.

Choosing a model? See TRIOS 3 vs. TRIOS 6. Still deciding whether to go digital? Read Is an Intraoral Scanner Worth It?

Working With Elegant Dental Laboratory

• Founded in 2007 by Gary Fingerman. Every case is made in house in our 7,000 sq. ft. Brooklyn facility by more than 35 technicians, with no outsourcing.
• 5 business day standard turnaround on most restorative cases; rush options available.
• STL and PLY files accepted from all major intraoral scanners, with direct connections for iTero, 3Shape TRIOS, Dentsply Sirona, Medit, Carestream, Planmeca, Shining 3D, ORI and Panda (setup steps). Digital scans are reviewed before production.
• Free pickup and delivery by our own drivers every business day during lab hours in all five New York City boroughs and 13 northern New Jersey counties, and prepaid UPS shipping labels for practices anywhere. Call 877-335-5221.

FAQ

Is a free intraoral scanner really free?

There is no purchase price, but you pay through committed lab volume, and possibly through shortfall charges, service plans and responsibility for damage.

What happens if we miss the monthly minimum?

It depends on the agreement. In our program, we charge the difference for that month.

Can I send scans to other labs with a lab-provided scanner?

Only if the agreement allows it, so get it in writing. In our program you can, as long as you meet the minimum.

Who pays for 3Shape TRIOS Care after the first year?

It depends on the program. In ours, it is arranged between the practice and 3Shape.

Do I keep my scans if I return the scanner?

Ask whose 3Shape Account company holds the data, and export what you need before the scanner goes back.

Reviewed by Gary Fingerman, founder and CEO of Elegant Dental Laboratory, Brooklyn, New York (founded 2007). Last reviewed: October 3, 2026. Manufacturer terms are as published on the dates shown and can change; this article is not legal or tax advice.