Why the Digital Scanner Is Superior
The traditional dental impression — involving trays filled with setting material held in the mouth for several minutes — has long been one of the most universally disliked aspects of a dental visit. The development of high-accuracy intraoral digital scanners has eliminated this discomfort while simultaneously improving the precision of the data captured.
The Problems with Traditional Impressions
Conventional impression-taking has several inherent disadvantages:
Discomfort and gag reflex: Impression material requires time to set in the mouth, during which patients must remain still. For patients with a sensitive gag reflex, this can be genuinely distressing.
Variable accuracy: Traditional impressions can be distorted during removal from the mouth, during shipping to the laboratory, and during the plaster model pour. Each step introduces potential error.
Time: Traditional impressions require a separate laboratory step (model pouring) before work can begin, adding days to the treatment timeline.
Storage: Physical models require storage space, are fragile, and can be lost or damaged.
How Digital Scanning Solves These Problems
A modern intraoral scanner (such as the Medit i700 used at Smilecraft) captures hundreds of overlapping images per second as it moves through the mouth, assembling them into a precise 3D digital model in real time.
Comfort: The scanner wand is no larger than an electric toothbrush. No material enters the mouth. The procedure is completely comfortable for virtually all patients.
Accuracy: Digital scans achieve sub-tenth-of-a-millimetre precision — superior to the best traditional impression technique in clinical conditions.
Speed: The scan is complete in 2–5 minutes and can be sent to the laboratory digitally within minutes.
Digital archive: Scans are stored permanently and can be compared over time to monitor changes.
The benefits of digital scanning are especially significant in implant work, orthodontics, and complex restorative cases. At Smilecraft, digital scanning is our standard for all cases requiring impressions.
