I'd like to talk to you about how digital scanners have changed my practice. Up until about 18 months ago, we were completely analog, like many of the dentists watching this video, using different types of impressions for different procedures, and then we decided to get a scanner. The main driving force behind purchasing the scanner was actually, digital smile design. We wanted to start using a lot more of these features in planning our more complex restoration cases.
“Patients are absolutely amazed by this technology.”
We started scanning about 18 months ago. It was a really steep learning curve at first, because it's a huge change from taking fingerprints all the time, and then suddenly you find yourself taking this wand and scanning a patient's mouth in a matter of minutes, because initially you don't really trust it, you wonder if Will this device do things as well as I did before? After getting through this learning curve, I can wholeheartedly recommend using a digital scanner as it has transformed our practice.
First of all, patients are absolutely amazed by this technology. I see you with this machine scanning their mouth, it's not uncomfortable like a fingerprint, they didn't yawn, they don't have a bad taste in their mouth. It's over in about four or five minutes max and you've captured all the detail you would need for any case. Our crowns fit better. Everything has been improved by using the scanner.
ADVANTAGES OF DIGITAL SCANNERS
We went with the i-Tero scanner largely because we do a lot of Invisalign, and the cleaning check and everything else is more integrated into the i-Tero, and you can do something called a simulation. It will actually walk you through the process and show the patient what your teeth might look like when they're straight.
“The digital scanner has improved our overall game.”
Moving from analog to fully digital, we now use the scanner for everything we do: for individual crowns, for our bridges, for our implants, for Invisalign, for absolutely everything. It is very good for monitoring cases of tooth wear and is an educational tool. When a patient sees their own mouth on a 3-D screen and touches it and plays with it and sees their mouth rotating, they start to see things that you couldn't show them with a mirror. The wear surfaces on their teeth, you can zoom in and get details that aren't possible.
It really makes you realize the quality of your own dishes too. It was an interesting thing for us to be able to see our own dishes magnified 10-20 times. You start to notice all the little discrepancies in your margins and it refines your technique so that now you spend a little more time making sure your dishes are absolutely perfect. It improved our game overall.
CASE EXAMPLE
One of the most useful things for me with the digital scanner was planning the bonding at the end of an alignment case. One case that comes to mind had three broken teeth on one side and then three teeth on the other side that were almost perfectly intact and had exactly the right proportions.
Previously, we would have sent this along with an impression to the lab. They would have waxed up that arch, and then we would have used that wax-up as a kind of guide to do the bonding. Using the scanner, we sent the scans to the lab, and they digitally mirrored the three teeth on the other side and then printed a model of the entire arch, which we then used as a guide to build those teeth. In the end, we ended up having anatomically correct teeth on both sides. There was no guesswork. I basically couldn't screw anything up, because I just followed the guide and they looked exactly the same.
“The digital scanner has transformed everything we do: Invisalign, restorative work, bonding…”
The patient was very excited and couldn't believe it was possible. These are small things that we couldn't have done analogically with the same precision that we can do now digitally.
THE DIGITAL SMILE DESIGN PROCESS
One of the other very useful things about the scanner is its ability to more easily integrate into the digital smile design process.. For those unfamiliar with digital smile design, it is a way to use natural teeth and natural surfaces to create a patient's veneers, crowns, or restorations, even bonding.
Essentially, we have a database of scanned natural teeth that we can use to build a patient's smile. We take a series of photos and a digital scan. These go into software and various design phases to select the right size tooth for that patient's smile. We can then use the digital library to mill the finishing face of those teeth exactly the same way a natural tooth looks. Whereas before a ceramist would design that face and be guided by their experience and how we thought that tooth would look, which meant that you didn't get a natural look because it's not a natural tooth. Through the digital smile design process we use real teeth, so we imitate nature much more effectively and it looks much more natural. I have really found that this has changed the way I restore patients' smiles.
In conclusion, I think that if you don't have a digital scanner you should try to purchase one as soon as possible, because for me has transformed everything we do: Invisalign, restorative work, bonding, all have become much more efficient and predictable. So get yourself a scanner!
Source: enlightensmiles.com
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