Digital Impressions Now Affordable !

What would you pay for a digital impression machine? Over the past several years we’ve had countless conversations with dentists on this particular question. Until now most doctors agree the technology is here to stay but the price is too high, and they prefer to ‘stick with conventional impressions’. We would like to introduce True Definition Scanner, a $11,995, second generation, digital impression scanner from 3M.

3M is not new to the digital impression market. Its first generation scanner, the Lava COS, was very effective. However, the company has made several improvements that involve hardware changes, resulting in a totally a new machine. The new scanner offers an ergonomic, cleansable, stainless steel wand that is simply tapped with the index finger to power. The wand is smaller than any other on the market, close in size to an intraoral camera, and scans with a smooth, flowing motion. The system is controlled by a touchscreen monitor. The size of the overall scanner is smaller than the previous version, offering more mobility in the office. We are very pleased with the software update, which is open-source, allowing our laboratory the ability to import directly into our iRis digital workflow. Although a powder is still necessary, a very light dusting is all that is required.

This new scanner uses the same “3D-in-motion” process as the last version, which captures video-scans and allows simultaneous viewing on the monitor. Wicher J. van der Meer, (Assistant Professor, Department of Orthodontics, University of Groningen, The Netherlands)  et al conducted an independent study published in August of this year in Plos One. In this in vitro study, implant abutment replicas were scanned on full arch models. The files were imported into an industrial reverse-engineering software called Rapidform for comparative measuring. In a controlled environment, the scans were performed by an experienced dentist following the manufacturer’s scan-protocols. They concluded that this scanning technology is 3x more accurate than the other two scanners on the market. To request a demonstration in your office please contact Alan Banks ext 306.