How to choose a dental PACS for your clinic or imaging center

The dental PACS market has grown a lot in recent years. Options range from free desktop software to complete cloud platforms with monthly subscription. How to choose? Here's a checklist of 10 critical points to evaluate before deciding.

1. Licensing model

Three common models:

• Perpetual license: pay once, use forever. Typical of local software. Expensive upfront, no recurring cost. Risk: support and updates billed separately.
• SaaS monthly/annual: pay subscription while using. Typical of cloud. No initial investment, predictable cost.
• Freemium: basic version free with paid options for more storage or features. Ideal for starting and growing.

For a clinic just starting out, freemium or monthly SaaS are the least risky.

2. Included storage

A standard CBCT weighs between 100 MB and 500 MB. A digital panoramic, 5-20 MB. If your clinic does 50 CBCTs per month, you need at least 25 GB of new storage per month. Check:

• How much storage each plan includes.
• If storage is unlimited or capped.
• How much additional storage costs when you run out.
• If old studies are automatically deleted after X months (some services do).

3. 3D viewer quality

The viewer is where you'll spend most of your time. Test it before buying. Look for:

• Smooth navigation between axial, sagittal and coronal slices.
• Real-time multiplanar reconstruction (MPR).
• Curved panoramic generation from the volume.
• 3D volume and surface (iso-surface) rendering.
• Measurement tools in mm.
• Adjustable visualization windows (W/L) with presets.
• Persistent annotations, arrows, circles.

4. Compatibility with your CBCT machine

The standard is DICOM, so any PACS should read any CBCT. But verify:

• Does it accept files from Carestream, Planmeca, Vatech, Sirona, Morita, NewTom?
• Does it support multiframe DICOM (single .dcm file with the whole volume)?
• Does it handle multiple series (several studies in the same session)?

5. Delivery to referring dentist and patient

This is critical if you have an imaging center:

• Does it generate a unique shareable link per study?
• Does the viewer the dentist sees work in their browser without installing anything?
• Does it also work on phone and tablet?
• Does it carry your brand or the PACS vendor's brand?
• Can you put a PIN on the shared link?
• Does it have a configurable expiration date?

6. Radiology report

If your center delivers reports, check for:

• Integrated report editor with templates.
• Digital signature of the radiologist on the PDF.
• Verification QR on the report.
• Automatic delivery to the referring dentist.
• Ability to attach selected images to the report.

7. Regulatory compliance

Depending on where you operate, compliance is non-negotiable:

• HIPAA: US — requires a signed BAA (Business Associate Agreement).
• GDPR: Europe — requires DPA and data in European infrastructure for some cases.
• LGPD: Brazil.
• Chile Law 21.719: in force from December 2026.

Ask specifically: where is data stored? Is it encrypted at rest? Is there access logging?

8. Technical support

Check:

• What language do they support in?
• What are support hours?
• What channel: chat, email, WhatsApp, phone?
• Average response time?
• Is there a knowledge base and tutorial videos?

9. Team and collaborators

If your center has more than one person using the system, you need:

• Multiple user accounts.
• Roles and permissions (admin, radiologist, assistant, referring dentist).
• Per-user activity to audit who did what.

10. Business continuity

What if the PACS vendor disappears tomorrow?

• Can you download all your DICOM in standard format?
• Is there a bulk export available?
• How long has the vendor been in the market?
• Does it have publicly verifiable customers?

Don't get locked into a vendor that makes it hard to leave.

Summary: decision matrix

If your clinic is small, start with a freemium that lets you grow. If you're a high-volume imaging center, prioritize viewer quality, branded delivery and fast support. If you work under strict regulation (EU), verify DPA and data residency.

How CBCTHub stacks up

CBCTHub meets all 10 criteria:

• Permanent Free plan with 1 GB to try without paying.
• Elastic storage from 1 GB (Free) up to 4 TB (Ultra).
• Proprietary 3D viewer with MPR, curved panoramic, oblique, surface and iso-surface.
• Compatible with any CBCT machine exporting DICOM (including multiframe).
• Link delivery with browser-based viewer, branded with your name, optional PIN and configurable expiration.
• Report editor with digital signature and QR.
• HIPAA-ready, GDPR, LGPD compliant. Signable DPA.
• Human support in Spanish, English and Portuguese via email and WhatsApp.
• Team with roles and permissions.
• Full data export at any time (original DICOM).

Try it free. No card, no commitments.