THE DIGITAL STREAM

Today, in honor of Earth Day, we’ll take a closer look at one such digital solution that can decrease dentistry’s footprint on the environment—intraoral scanning. Let’s compare some of the aspects of the traditional impression workflow with using an intraoral scanner and how each affects the environment:

Digital Intraoral Solutions, or DIOS, has been proven to provide diagnostic advantages and accelerate workflows. Its influence has become a central part of today’s dentistry, creating a better experience for both the clinician and patient. Due to its growing acceptance, the world of DIOS is fast reaching a critical point in its adoption.

Long, long ago (during the Gypsum Age), arriving on the silicone and polyether shores of merry England, was the first intraoral impression scanner. It was wheeled ashore behind a dozen horses and handed to a caveman called Claridge. He was the Product Specialist for a unit that shall not be named (unless to say it was tethered to a cumbersome trolley.

From the patient’s perspective, dental impressions haven’t traditionally offered the most pleasant experience. The availability of digital intraoral scanners has changed this drastically, providing a much more comfortable alternative. For dentists, intraoral scanners offer many benefits in addition to encouraging patient satisfaction.

As the year comes to a close, Carestream Dental reached out to industry leaders asking for their predictions for oral health care in 2017. The chief editor of Dental Economics, Chris Salierno, D.D.S, had this to say:

The benefit of intraoral scanning has a little to do with easy impression capture and a lot to do with better clinical outcomes. When oral health professionals incorporate a 3D HD intraoral scanner into their implant workflow, they can create their treatment plans virtually and execute them with more proficiency.

Many manufacturers tout the trueness, or accuracy, of a digital intraoral scanner in the same breath as precision. While both are important features of any scanner, the two concepts are not interchangeable. According to a recent study1 published in PLOS ONE, an online scientific journal, “an intraoral scanner should possess high trueness…but also high precision.” Let’s take a look at the difference between the terms and why both are vital for the best digital impressions.

Implant placement has become the treatment of choice for completely and partially edentulous patients. With more and more implants being placed, keeping up with demand can be difficult. However, with the ability to make your laboratory workflow more digital, time can be saved to create a more cost-effective, high-quality outcome.

Doctors and labs alike know that fabricating crowns and other appliances from traditional impressions can be challenging. With shipping delays, inaccurate stone model preparation, temperature fluctuations, expansion and shrinkage of materials—the results can lead to remakes, not to mention frustrated labs, doctors and patients. However, digital impressions eliminate these issues, allowing labs to reduce their remakes; manage cases online; and decrease their turnaround times, while facilitating stronger, more amiable relationships with practices.