Intraoral scanning marks the beginning of the digital dental workflow
The Importance of Intraoral Scanning
Intraoral scans allow us to align all records digitally to fabricate the prototype and final prosthesis digitally. Intraoral scans and the digital process are preferred due to a quicker turnaround time and increased accuracy.
When and What Do We Scan?
Pre-Op: the working arch with all surrounding tissue, antagonist, and bite are scanned for temporary digital prefabrication. This allows us to create a temporary backup denture, prosthetic guide, and pre-design for day of surgery.
Day of Surgery: If bone screws are placed as fiduciary markers, an intraoral scan is taken of the arch, capturing all tissue, existing teeth (if any), and the bone screws. This allows us to align all future scans to the patient’s current tissue. After surgery is complete, a white cap scan is taken to use as our tissue scan.
Post-Op: After the patient has healed and implants have integrated, intraoral scans are taken to gather data of the temporary, opposing arch, and bite. The temporary is then removed and white caps are placed for a tissue scan. These scans allow us to fabricate the prototype and final prosthesis digitally.
Fiduciary Markers & Bone Screws
Fiduciary markers are used in All-On-X surgeries to act as precise reference points between the patient’s mouth and digital design. This ensures optimal and accurate implant positioning, occlusion, and alignment, minimizing errors and improving the result of the same-day temporary.
What does a good intraoral scan look like?
Taking an accurate intraoral scan is imperative for a successful case. Intraoral scans provide us with part of the data needed to align the tissue scans, diagnostic scans, and the photogrammetry scans necessary for processing a case. When scanning, we need the following areas captured fully:
Uppers: tuberosities, full palate, dentition/temporary, white caps (for tissue scan)
Lowers: retromolar pads, lingual vestibule, buccal vestibule, dentition/temporary, white caps (for tissue scan)
Don't have an intraoral scanner? No problem!
We have our very own intraoral scanner – the SIRIOS™ by Straumann. Whether it’s the day of surgery or a post-op scan appointment, we can perform intraoral scans or provide your team with our scanner.
We accept scans from thefollowing intraoral scanners
