Intra-Oral Scanning & Digital Dental Impressions

What Is Intra-Oral Scanning?

An intra-oral scanner is a small handheld camera, roughly the size of an electric toothbrush, that is passed over the surfaces of your teeth and gums. It captures thousands of images per second and stitches them together into an accurate three-dimensional model of your mouth, which builds up on the screen in front of you as the scan is taken. The result is a digital impression: a file rather than a physical mould.

Conventional impressions are taken by loading a tray with putty, seating it over the teeth and holding it there for several minutes while the material sets. Many patients find this unpleasant, particularly if they have a sensitive gag reflex, and the material can distort, tear or capture air bubbles, which means the impression has to be retaken.

What Intra-Oral Scanning Is Used For

• Crowns, bridges, inlays and onlays – the prepared tooth and the opposing bite are scanned and sent to the laboratory for the restoration to be milled.
• Clear aligners and invisible braces – the scan is the starting point for planning tooth movement and manufacturing the aligner sequence.
• Dental implants – the scan is used for the implant crown, and can be combined with a CBCT scan to plan implant position and to make a surgical guide.
• Digital Smile Design and veneers – the model is used with photographs to design the shape and position of the teeth before treatment begins.
• Night guards, retainers and mouthguards – appliances are made from the digital model rather than from a plaster cast.
• Monitoring over time – scans stored from different dates can be compared to track tooth wear, gum recession or unwanted tooth movement.

Who Is It Suitable For?

Most patients needing any of the treatments above can be scanned, including children and teenagers, patients with a strong gag reflex, and patients who have found conventional impressions difficult in the past. Scanning is non-invasive and uses visible light rather than radiation, so it can be repeated as often as treatment requires. In some situations, such as scanning deep beneath the gum margin on a heavily broken-down tooth, or where the gum is bleeding, your dentist will assess whether a conventional impression will still give a better result.

How the Scan Works, Step by Step

1. Preparation

The teeth are cleaned and dried, and where a crown or a bridge is being made, the gum around the prepared tooth may be gently retracted so that the margin of the preparation is clearly visible to the camera.

2. Capturing the Arches

The scanner is passed slowly along the biting surfaces, then the inner and outer surfaces of the upper and lower teeth. The 3D model builds up live on the monitor, and any area that has not been captured properly shows as a gap that can be re-scanned there and then, rather than being discovered at the laboratory a day later.

3. Recording the Bite

You are asked to close your teeth together and a short scan is taken from the side. This records exactly how the upper and lower teeth meet, so the new crown, aligner or appliance is built to your own bite.

4. Review and Transfer

The completed model can be rotated and magnified on screen, so your dentist can show you the crack, the wear facet or the crowding being discussed. The file is then sent electronically to the laboratory or to the aligner planning software.

Benefits of a Digital Impression

• More comfortable – no tray, no putty, no setting time, and far less gagging.
• Faster – a full-arch scan typically takes a few minutes, and there is no waiting for material to set or for a cast to be poured.
• Accurate – there is no impression material to distort, tear or pull away as the tray is removed, and missed areas are re-scanned immediately.
• Fewer remakes – because errors are caught during the appointment rather than at the laboratory, repeat impressions and repeat visits are typically reduced.
• Visual – you can see your own teeth in 3D on the screen while the treatment is being explained to you.
• Stored digitally – the model is kept as a file, so a retainer or night guard can often be remade later without scanning you again.

What to Expect During and After the Scan

Scanning is painless. You sit as you would for a routine check-up, with the scanner tip resting against your teeth and moving slowly around the arch. There is nothing to swallow or hold in place; you can pause, swallow and rest whenever you need to, and the scan resumes from where it stopped. A single arch generally takes a few minutes, and a full upper, lower and bite scan a little longer. There is no recovery period, and you can eat and drink normally straight afterwards.

Why It Matters

The accuracy of everything made for your mouth depends on the accuracy of the record it is made from. A distorted impression produces a crown that does not seat properly, an aligner that does not track, or a night guard that rocks. The result is remakes, extra appointments and a restoration that fits less precisely at the gum margin, where poor fit later invites decay and gum inflammation. A precise digital model makes treatment more predictable, and makes it easier to show you what is being planned.

Intra-Oral Scanning at SouthEx Dental

At SouthEx Dental, Ground Floor, A-41, South Extension II, Block A, New Delhi 110049, digital scanning is used routinely for crowns and bridges, aligners, implant restorations and smile design, and the model is shown to you on screen as part of explaining your treatment. To book an appointment, call +91 98106 69747.