iTero: the Advanced Oral Cavity Scanner
The iTero digital scanner is a device that provides an instant 3D capture of the oral cavity, mainly teeth, and gum structure.
The iTero scanner helps anticipate results, monitor progress, and simplify dental treatment.
How does the iTero digital scanner work?
The iTero scanner is a small hand-held device connected to a computer.
First, the patient sits in a regular dental chair. Next, the dentist carefully places the device in the mouth and scans each tooth from different angles. The images captured by the scanner are then automatically transferred to the computer.
The dentist will see a 3D digital dental image of the mouth, dental arches, and bite on the monitor. These images are very accurate and allow for better diagnosis and dental treatment planning.
Wide range of applications
The intra-oral 3D scanner is also the right tool for esthetic and dental treatments. It also offers many advantages and facilitates tooth- or implant-supported restorations or orthodontic procedures.
In addition, the dentist can:
- Accurately diagnose cavities, fractures, and old fillings.
- Check the condition of the tooth enamel.
- Calculate the size of teeth, dentures or implants.
- Diagnose bruxism, tooth wear, and bite asymmetry.
Advantages of the iTero scanner
- Accurate and complete visualization of the oral cavity: With the iTero scanner, the dentist can visualize a digital replica of the oral cavity, soft tissues, tooth position, and tooth condition. In addition, the digital images are so precise that the dentist can see damage to the enamel, cracks in the teeth, and tooth size with high precision.
- Painless and radiation-free technology: The iTero digital scanner is a completely painless and non-invasive tool. It is a safe technology as it does not emit radiation and has no adverse side effects on the body.
- Efficient technology: iTero scanner allows the dentist to detect minor dental defects and the exact position of the teeth – all without the need for an X-ray. As a result, it saves time and money for the patient.
- Better communication with the dental laboratory: Digital imaging facilitates the fabrication of crowns, bridges, veneers, dentures, implants, inlays, and onlays, among others. Thanks to the 3D scanner, laboratories have a digitized model with significant advantages over the old dental casts, imperfect and prone to breakage.
Goodbye to dental plaster models
The 3D intraoral scanner is a state-of-the-art digital tool that replaces the dental plaster molds commonly used in dentistry.
Making dental plaster models is often uncomfortable for the patient. To make a dental cast, the dentist must fill the patient’s mouth with silicone or alginate paste. Generally, these dental plaster molds are not detailed and prone to breakage.
Thanks to the iTero digital scanner, these drawbacks are now history.
The iTero scanner and the Invisalign orthodontic treatment
The iTero digital scanner can be used to obtain a digital image of the mouth before any orthodontic treatment with braces, brackets, etc. We use this scanner, particularly in orthodontic treatment with Invisalign.
During Invisalign treatment, special software is used to process the images obtained by the scanner. In just 15 minutes, the software evaluates the images and provides a virtual simulation of the final result.
This software also provides a personalized treatment plan that makes tracking progress much easier and faster.
No extra costs to the patient
The use of the iTero scanner is included in the dental treatments we perform in our practice.
Being a faster and simpler examination than other imaging techniques, such as panoramic radiography (orthopantomography) or 3D computed tomography, the 3D intraoral scanner saves time and money. In particular, it can be used as a diagnostic method in cases where it is not necessary to visualize the tooth-bone structures.