iTero Digital Impressions
Medically Reviewed by Dr. Duane S. Shank, DDS, Board-Certified Orthodontist
An accurate impression of your teeth is the foundation of any orthodontic treatment plan. At Smithtown Orthodontics, we take that impression with an iTero digital scanner: a handheld wand that photographs the teeth and gums in three dimensions, in a few minutes, with no tray and no putty.
If you had orthodontic records taken twenty years ago, you remember the alternative. A tray of thick alginate pressed onto the upper arch, held there while it set, and a gag reflex doing its best throughout. That step is gone here, and it has been for years.
How the scan works
Dr. Shank passes a small wand over the surfaces of your teeth and gums, stopping and starting as needed. The wand captures thousands of images and assembles them into a single three-dimensional model of your mouth.
The model appears on a screen beside you in real time as the scan is taken. If a section needs re-scanning, it is re-scanned on the spot rather than discovered as a flaw a week later at the lab.
The whole thing takes minutes. There is no tray, nothing to bite into, no setting time, and nothing to swallow. The scanner uses light rather than ionizing radiation, so it is not an X-ray and carries none of that consideration.
Why it is more accurate
A putty impression is a physical object, and every physical step introduces a small error. The material distorts slightly when it is removed. It changes again during disinfection. Any patient movement while it sets is recorded permanently. Then the impression is shipped to a lab and cast into a model, which is another opportunity for error.
A digital scan removes every one of those steps. Comparing the two is a bit like comparing high definition to standard definition television: the same subject, considerably more detail.
Better records mean better-fitting appliances, and better-fitting appliances mean fewer adjustment appointments and less time in treatment.
What it is used for
Clear aligner treatment. The scan is sent electronically to the lab and is available in the Invisalign ClinCheck system the next day, rather than a week later after a physical impression has been couriered and cast. That is a real difference to how quickly treatment can start.
Retainers. A digital model of your finished teeth means replacement retainers can be made without a new impression appointment.
Appliances and braces records. Expanders, space maintainers, and bonding trays are all made more precisely from a digital model.
Your treatment records. The scan becomes part of your record, so we can compare where the teeth were at the start with where they are now.
What patients notice
The comfort, mostly. Patients with a strong gag reflex, small mouths, or difficulty breathing through the nose find a digital scan straightforward where a full-arch impression tray was genuinely unpleasant.
Beyond that, it is quicker, nothing has to be rescanned days later, a single-use imaging shield goes on the wand for every patient, and you get to look at your own teeth in three dimensions on a screen, which people enjoy more than you would expect.
See it at a free consultation
If you are coming in for a first consultation, the scan is often taken at the same visit, so treatment can start without a separate records appointment.
Call (631) 265-3666 or request an appointment online.
Smithtown Orthodontics 200 E Main St. Smithtown, NY 11787 (631) 265-3666
Questions about digital impressions
What is an iTero scanner used for?
It captures a three-dimensional digital model of your teeth and gums, replacing the traditional putty impression. In orthodontics that model is used to plan treatment, to order clear aligners, to make retainers and appliances, and as a permanent record of where your teeth started.
Does an iTero scan use radiation?
No. The scanner works with light and optical imaging, not ionizing radiation, so it is not an X-ray and carries none of the radiation considerations of one. X-rays are still taken separately when they are needed, because they show the roots and the bone, which a surface scan cannot.
How long does a digital scan take?
A few minutes for a full set of upper and lower arches, and it can be paused at any point. There is no setting time to wait through, and if a section needs redoing it is redone on the spot.
Are digital impressions more accurate than putty impressions?
Yes, and the reason is that they remove steps. A physical impression can distort on removal, distort again during disinfection, record any patient movement while it sets, and pick up further error when it is cast into a model at the lab. A digital scan skips all of that, so appliances fit better first time.
Can I see the scan while it is being taken?
Yes. The three-dimensional model builds on a screen beside the chair as the scan progresses, so you can see your own teeth from angles you have never seen them from. Dr. Shank uses the same view to explain what he is planning.
Questions about digital impressions
What is an iTero scanner used for?
It captures a three-dimensional digital model of your teeth and gums, replacing the traditional putty impression. In orthodontics that model is used to plan treatment, to order clear aligners, to make retainers and appliances, and as a permanent record of where your teeth started.
Does an iTero scan use radiation?
No. The scanner works with light and optical imaging, not ionizing radiation, so it is not an X-ray and carries none of the radiation considerations of one. X-rays are still taken separately when they are needed, because they show the roots and the bone, which a surface scan cannot.
How long does a digital scan take?
A few minutes for a full set of upper and lower arches, and it can be paused at any point. There is no setting time to wait through, and if a section needs redoing it is redone on the spot.
Are digital impressions more accurate than putty impressions?
Can I see the scan while it is being taken?
Yes. The three-dimensional model builds on a screen beside the chair as the scan progresses, so you can see your own teeth from angles you have never seen them from. Dr. Shank uses the same view to explain what he is planning.
