If you have had braces, crowns, onlays, implants, bridges or other dental work that involved having dental impressions taken, you probably remember how messy and disgusting the process actually was. Plus, if you are like many people and have a strong gag reflex, you probably hated the experience even more.
As an Oakville dental professional, we have seen many challenges around getting impressions of our patients’ mouths and teeth. Beyond the mess, is the possibility of distortion when taking, and transporting, impressions to the lab, which often results in a less accurate fit of your final restoration.
Not Always a Great First Impression
The challenge is that we, as dentists, can’t always tell if the impressions we take have distorted once they get to the laboratory and only notice the problem at time of the final fitting with the patient. Many factors can affect the accuracy of an impression, including removing the impression too soon; pulling the impression in certain critical areas; the storage temperature of the impression, especially if too warm; as well as how long the impression sits before the lab technician pours it in stone to start their process.
As technology improves, scanners have been developed to replace traditional impression techniques. There are incredibly advanced 3D scanners that use an extremely high quality camera to take 3D images of your teeth, allowing technicians to print a 3D model, from which they build your final restorations.
The benefits of these 3D scanners are immense, but for our team, there were two key determining factors that resulted in our purchase of a scanner for our Dr. Agatha Bis Holistic and Family Dentistry clinic, and ultimate switch from traditional impressions:
- Patient comfort. All patients, but especially those with a sensitive gag reflex, love the new scanner. The digital images are taken with a camera, so you can avoid the messy putty that runs down your throat and gags you when taking traditional dental impressions.
- Accuracy. The precision of the scan results in extremely accurate 3D models of your mouth, which has seemingly eliminated common errors still faced with traditional dental impressions. The restorations made from the scans fit incredibly well and that means your restorations will last years longer, feel better and look better. In addition, the scanner allows your team to take shade measurements, achieving a better colour match between your crown and your adjacent teeth. These scans are helping us make your restorations look incredibly real and natural.
So next time you need braces, or crowns, veneers, bridges, or implants, rest assured we have a better, cleaner, and overall easier method for taking impressions. Feel free to ask us how it works… we will be happy to show off our new scanner.
If you would like to learn more about our approach to taking the most accurate impressions with our 3D scanner, or have a question about your specific dental situation, get in touch with Oakville Dentist, Dr. Agatha Bis and her team by calling 905.338.6684 or by completing the form below.
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Dr. Agatha Bis Dentistry is located in Oakville Ontario and helps patients from Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton, Mississauga and Toronto with their holistic and cosmetic dental needs.