Comparison

ADA Chairside Instructor vs Spear Talk

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

ADA Chairside Instructor

This app provides dental professionals with a comprehensive visual guide for patient education. It features over 250 full-color images and 25 animations covering a wide range of dental topics, from prevention to complex restorations. Users can also draw on images and email them to patients.

Highlights
  • 250+ full-color dental images
  • 25 animations
  • Draw on images and email
  • iCloud photo access
  • Upload from Camera Roll
  • English and Spanish text
  • WiFi printing
  • Favorites list
Features
Read full description

Chairside Instructor - the best-selling dental case guide from the American Dental Association – is now available as an app for iPhone and iPad! With over 250 full-color dental images and 25 animations, the ADA Chairside Instructor App is your all-in-one resource for visual patient education. Content covers a wide range of prevention and treatment topics, including hygiene; anatomy; x-rays; periodontal disease; decay; crown, bridge, dentures, root canal, and other restorations; orthodontics; cosmetic treatment; TMJ; pathologies; and now cracked tooth and bruxism. Ideal for patient education or as a teaching tool for dental assistants. Eight categories include Oral Anatomy, Prevention and Diagnosis, Gum Disease, Caries and Restorations, Tooth Replacement, Orthodontics, Cosmetic Options, and Other Oral Conditions.  Also includes effects of sugar on oral health; steps of filling a cavity; tooth erosion; gum recession; peri-implantitis; and tobacco use. - Plus, these award-winning features: - 51 new/revised full-color images - Show 25 silent animations on your device. - Draw on pictures and email them to patients. - Access pictures across multiple devices from iCloud. - Upload photos from your own Camera Roll - Includes both English and Spanish text - WiFi printing - Add frequently viewed topics to your Favorites list for quick access or create your own - Use in both portrait and landscape orientation for both iPhone and iPad - Download on up to 6 devices for your dental team to use

About

Spear Talk

A members-only community for dental professionals to connect, share expertise, and discuss topics in clinical dentistry and practice management. The mobile app brings this dental community to users on the go.

Highlights
  • Members-only forum
  • Networking for dental professionals
  • Expert advice sharing
  • Clinical dentistry topics
  • Practice management discussions
  • Mobile access to community
Features
Read full description

Spear Talk is a members-only forum community for dental professionals to network, get expert advice, and share successes together. Join the conversation with a variety of topics across clinical dentistry, practice management, and more. With the new mobile app, now clinicians and team members can have their dental community with them anywhere they go.

Screenshots

ADA Chairside Instructor3 screens
Spear Talk4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Spear Talk at 5.0 against ADA Chairside Instructor's 3.3. Spear Talk also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 7 months) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.6). ADA Chairside Instructor's advantage is ratings volume (8 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Spear Talk holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ADA Chairside Instructor has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ADA Chairside Instructor ships an update every 7 months, Spear Talk every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
ADA Chairside Instructor versus Spear Talk: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterADA Chairside InstructorSpear Talk
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (8 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings8 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.611.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size192 MB43 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperAmerican Dental AssociationSpear Education, LLC

Customer experience

ADA Chairside Instructor

All ratings8 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Spear Talk

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

ADA Chairside Instructor

No in-app purchases

None

Spear Talk

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ADA Chairside Instructor free?
ADA Chairside Instructor is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Spear Talk free?
Spear Talk is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ADA Chairside Instructor or Spear Talk?
Spear Talk is rated higher. ADA Chairside Instructor averages 3.3 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while Spear Talk averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do ADA Chairside Instructor or Spear Talk have ads?
Neither ADA Chairside Instructor nor Spear Talk shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ADA Chairside Instructor or Spear Talk?
ADA Chairside Instructor ships an update every 7 months, and Spear Talk every 2 months. Most recently, ADA Chairside Instructor was updated on October 6, 2026 and Spear Talk on October 4, 2026.

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