Digital dentistry has opened up a new world for dentists. The advancements in intraoral scanners these days have allowed dentists to have a variety of options in products as well. Here are a couple of reasons why intraoral scanners may be a good idea for you.
- No more PVS crown impressions. Gone are the days of taking an impression only to find a bubble on the margin and having to retake it. With intraoral scanners, you can rescan and edit as much as you want before final processing. This makes things a lot less stressful for you as the operator, and much more comfortable for your patient as well. Costs associated with impression material are also eliminated (although the initial cost of the scanner is a big investment)
- No more stone models. Intraoral scanners send digital files either to your lab or to your mill for your restoration to be created. This helps to eliminate another factor which could introduce imperfections into your impression and lead to a more difficult delivery appointment.
- Time-efficiency. Your assistant can pre-scan the area to be treated before you even walk into the operatory. This makes for a quick 1-2 minute scan after preparation. Compare this to a 4 minute set time in a PVS impression which may or may not be perfect and have to be redone again.
Is it all perfect? Definitely not. Intraoral scanners have more difficulty detecting deep margins (although they are getting better by the day), they usually have a high initial investment cost, and they do take a learning curve to do well. Most of these cons are small compared to the impressive benefits of having an intraoral scanner. Next time we will discuss a few different options for intraoral scanners available on the market today.
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