Technology

Intraoral Scanner

A handheld digital wand that captures precise 3D models of your teeth — often replacing traditional putty impressions.

Clinical overview

An intraoral scanner is a small, wand-shaped optical device that captures thousands of images per second and stitches them into a highly accurate three-dimensional model of your teeth and soft tissues. The digital file replaces — or supplements — conventional polyvinyl siloxane or alginate impressions for many restorative and orthodontic workflows.

Accuracy matters because restorations and aligners are only as good as the model they are built on. Digital scans reduce distortions that can occur when impression material shrinks, pulls, or traps bubbles. They also let us magnify and inspect margins, contact points, and bite relationships on screen before sending data to the laboratory or aligner manufacturer.

Comfort is the patient-facing benefit most people notice first. Many patients prefer scanning to holding a putty-filled tray in the mouth for several minutes — especially those with a strong gag reflex. Scanning can usually be paused and resumed, and areas that are missed are simply rescanned.

At Implant Square Dental, intraoral scans feed crowns and bridges, implant restorations, clear aligner planning, and digital smile design. When combined with CBCT, scan data can also be merged for guided implant surgery — matching the shape of your teeth to the 3D bone volume beneath.

How an intraoral scan is taken

1
Preparation
Teeth are dried as needed. Soft tissue is gently retracted so the scanner can see preparation margins or contact areas clearly.
2
Scanning
The wand moves systematically over occlusal, buccal, and lingual surfaces of each arch, then captures the bite in occlusion.
3
Review
Software builds a colour 3D model in real time. We check for holes, distortions, or incomplete margins and rescan if required.
4
Design or export
The file is used for chairside planning, lab-fabricated restorations, aligner setups, or merging with CBCT for surgical guides.

Clinical applications

Crowns, bridges, and veneer preparations
Clear aligner records and progress scans
Implant impression alternatives (scan bodies)
Digital smile design and mock-ups
Night guards and selected removable appliances
Study models for complex treatment planning

Clinical benefits

High geometric accuracy for lab and CAD/CAM work
Often more comfortable than conventional impressions
Immediate on-screen visualisation and quality control
Easy digital storage and sharing with laboratories
Enables merge with CBCT for guided implant workflows

What to expect

A full-arch scan typically takes a few minutes per arch once the team is set up. You may feel the wand and a little air, but there is no setting impression material.

If you have a strong gag reflex, tell us — we can scan in shorter segments and give you breaks.

After scanning, we often show you the 3D model. For cosmetic cases, this becomes the starting canvas for digital smile design. For restorative cases, we verify that preparation margins are fully captured before fabrication begins.

FAQs

Sometimes. Certain deep margins, heavy bleeding, or specific appliance types may still require conventional impressions. We choose the method that gives the most reliable result for your case.