iTero® Dental Impressions

Hershey Plaza Dental Center offers patients a more comfortable, convenient, and patient-friendly alternative to the dreaded impression gel that is normally associated with dental impressions. The iTero® Intraoral Scanner allows doctors to take a 3D digital scan of a patient’s teeth and bite rather than using a viscous impression material. Not only is the iTero® Intraoral Scanner significantly more patient-friendly, it also offers increased precision and eliminates the risks of gagging or swallowing excess impression gel.

Prior to receiving braces, retainers or Invisalign, a patient must have impressions taken of his or her existing smile in order to plan an appropriate orthodontic procedure. Traditionally, dental impressions were taken by inserting large metal trays and liquid plaster against the upper and lower jaw. The material sets to become an elastic solid, providing a detailed replica of a patient’s smile. This method is uncomfortable, time-consuming and often inaccurate as opposed to the iTero® scanner.

Hershey Plaza Dental Center is able to provide our patients with a non-invasive, three- to five-minute scan that digitally captures the form and structure of the tooth and gum line through a series of 3D pictures. This digital impression scanner performs parallel confocal scanning by capturing 100,000 laser points in perfect, sharp focus, providing greater accuracy to patients and virtually eliminating return appointments for readjustments. A new and improved digital map of the mouth helps our team educate our patients for a better in-office experience.

Benefits of the iTero Intraoral Scanner

• Identifies the tooth by voice and visual commands
• Aids in the creation of all types of dental restorations
• Eliminates the need for coating teeth as well as the resulting gagging
• Uses single-use imaging shields for maximum infection control
• Offers adjustments in real time
• Transmits the file wirelessly to the lab for further processing
• Can be completed without any protective wear

This flexible digital impression scanner can be used for oral prostheses such as veneers, crowns, bridges, surface inlays, onlays and implant abutments from single units to full arches. Patients are also able to view images of their dental treatments on an in-office computer display.

For more information on Dental Imaging, call Hershey Plaza Dental Center at 309-664-2288 or make an appointment.