Intraoral Scanner: The Perfect Practice Builder
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WHITE PAPER Intraoral Scanner: The Perfect Practice Builder

Table of Contents So you want an intraoral scanner A data and records collector A photographer A color consultant A smile maker A lab technician A tooth whitener A tooth mover A conversation starter A social media influencer A restful night of sleep A source of comfort An ergonomic experience A revenue generator What’s stopping you?

So you want an intraoral scanner? The intraoral scanner is no longer simply a wand to scan digital teeth. It’s also a data and records collector. A smile maker. A photographer. A color consultant. A lab technician. A tooth whitener. A tooth mover. A confidence builder. A conversation starter. A social media influencer. A trusted guide. A restful night of sleep. A source of comfort. A revenue generator. And best of all, it’s a practice builder. Intraoral scanners are not simply instruments that you pull out for special cases, rather, they are helpful assistants that help you with EVERY...

A data and records collector Intraoral scanners are versatile instruments that can be used to collect an impressive amount of patient data—all in a single swipe. By scanning the patient at the initial consultation appointment, you will not only acquire a lifelike baseline scan of your patient’s clinical condition, but you will also obtain actionable clinical data that can be accessed from any networked PC in your practice. You can even re-use the original scans once treatment is accepted, further reducing chair time. Best of all, you can access the datasets directly from the patient record...

A photographer In addition to acquiring HD 3D color impressions, some scanners also are capable of directly acquiring or extracting 2D images—eliminating the need to capture intraoral photos with a separate device. This not only saves your staff time but also results in a better experience for your patient as you can now complete two tasks in one procedure. The images can be stored in the patient’s chart and shared with the lab, referrals or insurance providers. Some intraoral scanners are even able to extract a quadrant snapshot of images from a dataset, enabling you to capture orthodontic...

A color consultant Finding the perfect shade match is more critical than ever before, as patients are becoming more educated about dental aesthetics. Not only do clinicians need to focus on restorative fit and function, but they must also produce results that are also aesthetically pleasing, with tooth shapes and shades that match the adjoining teeth with minimal contrast. One of the biggest challenges of manual and visual tooth shade selection is that it is subjective; not only to the dental practitioner, but also to the patient. A slight aesthetic imperfection of the final restoration can...

A color consultant continued... Because of limitations like these, approximately 50 percent of remakes for aesthetic restorations are the result of a failure to match shades accurately. And remakes can be costly. With many intraoral scanners in the market designed to assist with shade matching, it can be daunting to make the right selection for your practice. Some intraoral scanners are designed to automatically identify the tooth shade while capturing the digital impression, while others provide a more manual process. Some scanners require regular calibration, while others do not. While...

A smile maker The Zoom boom has driven an increase in the demand for cosmetic treatments. As people spend countless hours staring at their onscreen reflection thanks to remote conference calls, they have become more and more preoccupied with their facial aesthetics―including their smiles. It’s no wonder that dental practitioners see growing interest from patients in aligners, veneers, whitening and enamel bonding treatments. This is where intraoral scanners come in handy. Instead of taking conventional impressions, the intraoral scanner can capture a baseline digital impression that can be...

A lab technician Intraoral scanners enable you to automatically create a digital model— complete with trimmed bases—within minutes. With no need to rush the impression to the lab for pour up, also gone are the days of having a noisy, gypsum-dusted lab space due to the ongoing need for model trimming. Team members will appreciate being spared of the misery of cleaning the dreaded plaster trap. Digital modeling software can not only create a model in minutes, but transitioning to digital impressions and models also provides you freedom to pursue more efficient model processing, management and...

A tooth whitener Is your patient also interested in teeth bleaching? Once the restoration is complete, you can continue to leverage the existing scan to create the bleaching trays. Simply cut out the region around the previously scanned prep and rescan now that the crown has been placed, eliminating the need to completely rescan both patient’s arches. The digital impression can now be sent to the lab for manufacturing of the trays. Or, if you have a 3D printer and thermoforming machine, the patient’s whitening trays can be fabricated in-house. Click here to see how intraoral scanners can...

A tooth mover Two-thirds of US adults exhibit clinically meaningful malocclusions, and interest in aligner therapy has skyrocketed through the pandemic. In fact, a recent survey indicated that 86.9% of adults preferred clear aligners to conventional appliances, and the majority of adults surveyed indicated they would be willing to pay more for aligner treatment. With so many new options for aligner therapy available, practitioners can choose to work with their preferred lab or manufacturer – or even fabricate aligners in-house if desired. This also means you can choose the scanner that best...

A conversation starter Intraoral scanners not only help the practitioner evaluate the patient’s clinical situation, they also help patients to visualize and better understand their need for treatment. Vivid HD 3D color digital impressions provide detailed views of chips, worn surfaces, loose or worn amalgam fillings, plaque, caries, gingival recession, occlusal irregularities, crowding, edentulous spans and more. “My practice has found that the intraoral surface scans that our CS 3600 intraoral scanner captures are an incredibly powerful tool to educate patients, especially in the...