Why More Dentists Are Switching to Digital Impressions

For many decades, dentists have relied on traditional dental impressions to create molds of their patients’ teeth and gums. The process involves using a putty-like material that you place in the patient’s mouth to create an imprint of their teeth. You can then use this mold to make crowns, bridges, and other dental restorations.

But in recent years, there’s been a shift toward using digital impressions instead of traditional ones. This technology uses intraoral scanners to capture a 3D image of the patient’s mouth. What has led to this change, and why are more dentists making the switch to digital impressions?

Improved Accuracy

Traditional dental impressions are prone to errors, as they rely on the dentist’s ability to place the putty in the patient’s mouth perfectly. Any slight movement can result in an inaccurate mold, and an inaccurate mold can result in ill-fitting restorations that are uncomfortable for the patient.

Digital dental impressions have a much lower margin of error. The scanner can capture a precise image of the patient’s mouth. With these digital images, you can create highly accurate and precise restorations.

Enhanced Efficiency

Digital dental impressions can transform your practice in many ways, one of which is by streamlining the impression process. The traditional method of making dental impressions is time-consuming. It involves mixing the putty material, placing it in the patient’s mouth, waiting for it to set, removing it carefully without causing any distortion, and then sending it off to a lab for fabrication. Digital impressions take minutes to capture, and you can send the images electronically to a lab. This saves both time and effort for dentists and their patients.

Better Patient Experience

Traditional impressions can be uncomfortable for patients, especially those with a sensitive gag reflex. The putty material can have an unpleasant feel, taste, and smell, which can cause anxiety and discomfort for the patient.

Digital impressions eliminate all these issues. The process is quick, clean, and hassle-free. Just place the scanner in the patient’s mouth, and within minutes, you have a digital image of their teeth.

Cost Savings

The traditional method of making dental impressions involves multiple steps, materials, and labor costs. With digital impressions, you can eliminate many of these expenses. You’ll find your practice saving money on materials, shipping costs, and even storage space for physical molds.

If you’re still taking impressions the traditional way, now may be the time to consider making the switch to digital impressions. This switch requires an initial investment in the intraoral scanner, and there’s a learning curve to using the technology. But once you’ve mastered it, digital dental impressions can benefit your practice by streamlining processes, improving accuracy and patient experience, and saving you money.