Digital impression:
Did you take a traditional mold impression in a dental office before?
How did you feel?
Did you like it?
If no, did you try digital impression?
What is digital impression?
Digital Impressions (also known as 3-D intraoral scanning) are the latest technology in capturing a replica of the mouth (dental association, n.d.) Using a wand-like tool connected to a computer and advanced software to set up a virtual model of the hard and soft tissues in the mouth.
What are the benefits?
It’s more accurate than traditional mold impression. Also, it can be used for lots of needs. Clients with severe gagging and sensitive teeth will feel more comfortable when doing a digital impression. The monitor can show the images which means if the dentists notice that there are any inaccuracies in the image, they can re-do it when the patient is still in the chair (dental association, n.d.).
How it works? (Digital Impression with CEREC Omnicam)
Dental practices can choose between three CEREC Omnicam versions (DentsplySirona, n.d.):
• CEREC AC mobile cart version
• CEREC AF flexible tabletop version
• CEREC AI integrated version
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Peiru W.
References:
DentsplySirona. (n.d.). Do it your way: Digital Impression with CEREC. Retrieved from https://www.dentsplysirona.com/content/dam/flagship/de-de/produkte/cad-cam/cad-cam-fuer-die-praxis/downloads/Digital-Impressioning-with-CEREC.pdf
Dental Association. (n.d.). Digital Impression. Retrieved from https://www.dentalassociates.com/dental-topics/digital-impressions
Video:
DentsplySirona. (2019). CEREC AC Full Arch Digital Impression. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/dwz0UKTxmj0
Pearls Of Wisdom 
Great post!
I personally hate getting an alginate impression as it is a messy and uncomfortable procedure! I noticed you mentioned that they are said to be more accurate in comparison to traditional molds. However, I did find some cons about the accuracy of digital impressions in comparison to traditional alginate impressions. Clients with crowns, bridges or veneers, using digital impression technology makes it challenging to capture the interproximal spaces between the tooth and gum tissues located around the tooth. However, these interproximal areas are key to ensure restorations have an accurate fitting. In addition, JADA article stated that digital impressions are not necessarily better when compared to traditional and further research is required to properly determine the advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore, digital impressions still require the soft tissue to be isolated. This is perhaps why many dentists continue to use traditional alginate impressions (Watson, 2019).
So, I think the idea of digital impression is really neat, however, it is important that clients are aware of the disadvantages as well.
– Randeep
Watson, S. (2019). An Alternative to Traditional Dental Impressions. Retrieved from https://www.verywellhealth.com/digital-versions-of-dental-impressions-1059374
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Hi Randeep,
Thank you for your response, I agree with you. Although the digital dental impression technology is advanced, it cannot completely replace the traditional dental mold impression technology. According to a study, it shows that for large, full-arch FPDs, the conventional impression technique results in better accuracy as compared to the digital method, the reason why the conventional methods may be preferred (ACP, 2016). Therefore, according to clients’ different dental needs, provide them different dental impression technique (traditional or digital) to get better result.
Reference:
ACP. (2016). Digital Versus Conventional Impressions in Fixed Prosthodontics: A Review. retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jopr.12527
Peiru W.
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I enjoyed reviewing your site! Some very interesting and relevant topics to the world of oral health care today!
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