Say Goodbye to Gooey Dental Impressions

     One of the biggest complaints I hear from my patients is that the materials dentists use to take impressions for crowns, veneers and bridges is extremely unpleasant.  The impression material when it is placed in a patient’s mouth typically runs down the back of the throat causing patients to gag and usually tastes awful.  To add insult to injury a patient has to sit and endure this anywhere from one minute to seven minutes waiting for the material to harden before it can be removed.  Even though my assistant and I will stay next to the patient the entire time the impression is in their mouth, it is still ‘gooey’ uncomfortable, a little claustrophobic.

     Last year a new digital scanner was introduced to dentists. The 3Shape Digital Impression Scanner. Not many things surprise me in dentistry anymore but the technology of  3Shape scanner is simply amazing!

     How the scanner works is that when a dentist prepares a tooth for a crown (including veneers, onlays, implant crowns and many other dental restorations) a small camera is placed in the mouth and the scanner begins to take hundreds of color pictures of your teeth and gums.  Once the dentist is satisfied that the scanner has captured all the information the scanner sends the 3D images to the lab by email. The scanner is in the mouth, taking its pictures, for about 45 seconds three times.

     The advantages of the 3Shape scanner for patients are quick and comfortable impressions, high quality restoration fits and minimal grinding, reduced number of appointments due to fewer retakes, reduced overall chair time and most importantly a great patient experience.

  Follow my Blog as I will continue to share more information about modern dental advances which are leading to better accuracy and a much improved patient experience in the dental chair.