The Rise of Digital Impression Technology

Taking impressions to make appliances, crowns, bridges and for other dental procedures has never been an enjoyable experience for most patients.  Using traditional materials to make molds of teeth is a process that had remained unchanged for the most part for decades before the development of digital scanning technology.  The old method used various materials that were placed in a tray and inserted into your mouth.  The materials tended to have a less than ideal taste and for some people, holding them in their mouth was difficult, since it could take a minute or two for the materials to get firm.  it was a messy and unpleasant experience usually, but allowed dentists to accurately make a model of teeth, so that crowns, bridges, dentures, etc. could be custom made to fit a patient’s needs.

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In recent years, improvements to digital technology have made taking impressions with a scanner more routine and able to accurately provide a 3D image of individual or multiple teeth.  This enables digital images to be used to fabricate a digital or 3D model from which an appliance or dental restoration can be made.  Although we still use traditional impressions on some occasions and for certain types of procedures, we are using digital imaging more every day for dental procedures and expect that trend to continue in the future.  If you are interested in knowing more about how digital scans can improve your dental experience, feel free to ask for a demonstration.