Our team wants to help you enjoy your time in our office, which is why we employ advanced technology to offer care with precision and convenience. Instead of using physical impressions to plan treatment, we offer a digital alternative! In today’s blog, your Santa Monica, CA, dentist talks about our iTero® Digital Scanner!
When Does a Patient Need an Impression?
A dental impression is necessary to plan and design custom Invisalign® aligners for people with misalignment. We also use them to design and fabricate custom oral appliances to address a wide array of issues, such as TMJ disorder, bruxism (teeth grinding), and even sleep apnea. These also aid in the creation of custom dental prosthetics to handle tooth loss. In the past, this meant a metal mold would be filled with a gooey material, and the patient would bite down on the mold and hold this bite for several minutes. Usually, the process would need to be redone and the material, despite claiming they have flavors, just tasted like chalk. Not ideal! Thankfully, we’ve had decades of experience with the digital alternative!
The Digital Difference
With the iTero® digital scanner, we don’t need physical impressions at all. First, we use a thin wand with a miniscule camera at the end to take detailed images of your smile from multiple angles. The thin wand ensures we can do so quickly and comfortably, so we obtain the images necessary without causing you discomfort. We then combine these to create a digital impression, one far more accurate than a traditional physical option. No need for an invasive process that activates your gag reflex or tastes terrible, and we create your treatment options with better precision. You also spend less time in the chair!
Moving Forward with Treatment
Once we obtain the impressions, we can then custom-make your appliances or aligners, so you can enjoy treatment with precision and accuracy, enjoying relief from discomfort or starting your journey to an even and beautiful smile. If you have any questions about our use of imaging technology, or if you would like to schedule an appointment to address your misalignment or the gaps in your smile, or if you have discomfort in your face and jaw that needs attention, then contact our team right away. We’re ready to help you smile with confidence and enjoy better comfort moving forward.
Schedule Your Next Cosmetic Visit Soon
You can call Santa Monica Dental Arts in California at 310-395-1261 to schedule an appointment to start your journey to a healthy and beautiful smile! Don’t let discomfort and other issues impact your oral health and quality of life, talk to our team about possible solutions. With imaging technology, we offer a streamlined and improved diagnostic and treatment planning process.
