How Digital Impressions Produce Better Orthodontics

The moment you decide to undergo orthodontic treatment can be an exciting time. You know that you’ll have a beautiful, healthier smile when the process is completed. Between this initial decision and the outcome you dream of used to lay some uncomfortable experiences. X-rays would need to be taken using uncomfortable bite plates. Then you’d need to have an impression taken of your teeth and gums using a tray and unpleasant goopy medium. Some patients reacted so poorly to these trays and goop that they’d gag on them. These experiences are now a thing of the past with 3D imaging.

Better Orthodontic Care With Digital Imaging

It used to be an unfortunate truth that a physical dental impression was essential to the orthodontic planning process. They gave your dental practitioner the ability to easily view your teeth, gums, and other orofacial structures. Using the resulting X-rays and models, they were able to properly visualize the condition of your oral cavity and plan treatment around it. The resulting data was certainly sufficient for the job, but the physical impression was fraught with inaccuracies. 

Modern 3D imaging has made these inaccuracies a thing of the past. Over the years, dental technology has introduced superior tools in the form of high-resolution scanners. These scanners produce images of your oral cavity in 3D while eliminating the majority of the prior inaccuracies. This was accomplished using an intraoral scanner that took hundreds of pictures which were then stitched together using special software.

Another innovation that has changed orthodontic treatments is the CRCT scanner. This device is a new generation of x-ray imaging that generates precision imagery of your orofacial region. The process eliminates the need for bite plates and produces images that can be viewed in a 3D format. 

Both of these styles of imaging are combined as part of orthodontic care. While they’re able to be viewed in a digital format, your dentist is also able to 3D print them. This allows the best possible viewing options for planning your orthodontic care. This is due to such benefits as:

• High accuracy imaging without bite plates
• 3D Visualization of your orofacial soft tissues and bones
• Elimination of bite plates, trays, and impression mediums
• Superior ability to develop treatment plans.

Above and beyond the immediate benefits for your treatment is the portability of these images. The resulting imagery can be transmitted digitally to other practitioners or even the patient without any fear of losing the original copy. All of these benefits combined create a superior experience for the patient, better treatment planning, and more satisfactory outcomes.

3D Imaging: The New Industry Standard For Orthodontics

The outcomes possible when 3D imaging is used are the driving reason that it is replacing traditional imaging. Every element of the process, from diagnosis to treatment planning, is improved and streamlined. There’s less discomfort for the patient and less inaccuracy in the imaging used to create the treatment. The results will be even better for all these benefits. That’s why 3D imaging has become the new dental industry standard of care.