Mid Cities Dental is proud to introduce a new machine into our equipment repertoire this month. The 3Shape TRIOS intraoral scanner has state-of-the-art capabilities to keep your oral health current. It will allow our staff to better care for your needs. However, you may be wondering what the purpose of an intraoral scanner is. What, if any, benefits will you see from the introduction of our newest piece of equipment?
What Does an Intraoral Scanner Do?
Intraoral scanners scan the interior of your mouth over the span of a few minutes. This produces a series of digital images the machine then puts together to provide a complete digital landscape of your mouth. The resulting image allows your dentist to create physical restorative components for your mouth, such as crowns, implants, and veneers. In addition, they assist your dentist or orthodontist in diagnosing various problems with your teeth or your bite.
How Does an Intraoral Scanner Change Your Dental Experience?
We like this machine for its significant advances over the old, 2D scanning, as well as for its increased ease of use. However, the reason we love it is because of the significant improvements it allows us to make in your patient experience.
No More “Gunk”
Prior to this machine, patients needing crowns, implants and other restorative work had to endure traditional impressions, a procedure in which the dental professional places a sticky compound in your mouth to create impressions of your current teeth. The process made some patients gag; others disliked the smell of the compound. Intraoral scanning allows your dentist to quickly get a digital image of your mouth without the need for traditional impressions
Highly Accurate Results
Although the accuracy rate of dental impressions was fairly high, dentists still needed to make the impression, form the restorative component, and fit it to the patient. These steps often included a few trial and error sessions by necessity, in order to achieve a custom fit. Intraoral scanner results are highly accurate the first time, eliminating much of the extra fitting necessary with traditional impressions.
Additional Uses:
Intraoral scanners can also take highly accurate shades of your teeth so your crown, bridge, or veneers are matched perfectly with your natural teeth. It can also produce the measurements we need for night guards, sports guards, Clear Correct systems (clear aligners that straighten teeth invisibly, without metal braces). Instead of impressions or other uncomfortable measurements, your dental professional scans your mouth digitally, allowing you to use your new correction system much more quickly.
Overall Increased Patient Comfort
The old way of doing dental impressions is more time-consuming. Waiting for impressions to set, additional fittings, and adjustments lead to more time in the dental chair. With an intraoral scanner, you reap the benefits of limited time in the chair.
If you’ve been putting off that crown, implant, or veneer, or if you’ve been looking into a Clear Correct system to straighten and align your teeth, now is the time to schedule an appointment with Mid Cities Dental.