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STL: Formats and compatibility

CBCTHub supports the two main 3D mesh formats used in digital dentistry: STL and PLY. Each has variants and cases where one is preferable.

STL (Stereolithography)

The most common format in digital dentistry. It has two variants:

  • Binary STL: compact, smaller files. Recommended.
  • ASCII STL: plain text, files up to 6× larger but human-readable. Useful for debugging.

CBCTHub opens both formats indistinctly. If your scanner exports ASCII by default and you notice huge files (>100 MB for a single arch), consider switching to binary mode.

NotaSTL does not store color or texture — only the surface geometry. If you need color (photo scans, marked lesions), use PLY.

PLY (Polygon File Format)

More complete than STL: supports per-vertex color, useful when the scanner captures texture (color-marked caries, more saturated gums, etc.). Some modern scanners like iTero Plus export to PLY to preserve this info.

CBCTHub shows the colors when present. If you upload a PLY without color, it renders like a normal STL.

Recommended sizes

  • Full arch (maxilla or mandible): 10-30 MB typical in binary STL.
  • Bite in occlusion: 30-60 MB.
  • Surgical guide: 5-15 MB.
  • Specific quadrant: 3-10 MB.
ImportanteIf your STL weighs more than 200 MB and only covers one arch, it is likely exported in ASCII or with unnecessarily high resolution. Reducing polygons in the scanner's software improves load speed without losing clinical precision.

Unsupported formats

CBCTHub does not open these formats. If your software exports them, convert to STL/PLY first:

  • .OBJ — generic 3D format, used by some scanners. Convert to STL with any mesh software.
  • .3MF — Microsoft 3D Manufacturing Format. Used in 3D printing.
  • .STEP / .STP — CAD format for mechanical parts. Not for dental mesh.
  • Proprietary formats — .dms (TRIOS), old iTero formats, etc. Use the STL export option in the original software.
CasoConvert OBJ to STL

If your scanner exports to OBJ:

1. Open the file in free mesh software like MeshLab or Blender.

2. Export as binary STL.

3. Upload the resulting STL to CBCTHub.

TipDoes your scanner export an unusual format not on this list and you need to convert it? Write to us from Support — we add formats on demand.