Making a model of your teeth is invaluable to orthodontists – details of your tooth structure and occlusion (bite) are needed to ensure your orthodontic treatment is as effective as possible. And to get these details, impressions of your mouth are needed. For many years, orthodontists relied on putty material in order to make an impression of your teeth and gums. However, our office uses the most state-of-the-art technology available to help create the smile you want, which is why we use digital impressions.
Using a digital scanning wand, we will take computer-precise digital images of your teeth and bite, allowing us to form a highly accurate three-dimensional model of your mouth’s dental and periodontal structure. These impressions will help us formulate a personalized treatment plan that meets your specific orthodontic needs and desires. We can also use them to visually show you your treatment options and help us keep you up-to-date on your treatment progress.
After your specific treatment plan has been chosen, the digital impressions allow us to create customized bracket trays that we use to place your brackets onto your teeth, all at one time, with increased efficiency and overall effectiveness.
Benefits of Digital Impressions
Some benefits of digital impressions over traditional putty impressions include:
- Accuracy: They capture the exact contours of your teeth.
- Efficiency: They require less time in the treatment chair.
- Comfort: Taking the digital images is less invasive. No putty is used, and patients are more at ease without fearing they will gag on the impression putty.
- Customization: They provide a digital plan and allow for trays that are tailored to meet the individual needs and desires of each patient.
- Visualization: They provide each patient with a definite picture of what their teeth will look like before, during and after orthodontic treatment.
- Innovation: They use the most advanced 3-D video technologies.
iTero
Our office offers digital dental impressions through the advanced iTero® system, created by Align Technology, the same company that produces Invisalign aligners. The iTero system replaces the uncomfortable, unpleasant-tasting, messy and sometimes inaccurate traditional putty impressions. No bulky trays or sticky putty needed! And since it is made by Align Technology, you can rest assured that the information from the iTero system will be perfectly compatible with customized Invisalign treatment.