Dive Deep into Digital

As trained dental professionals, it’s easy to make assumptions about what patients know and don’t know. Purchasing a new product is no different, with dentists often assuming that those at the low end of the cost spectrum will underperform their brand-name counterparts. But that's not always the case.

 “When I started scanning with the Aoralscan, I was expecting to find an inferior version of a major company just because the price range was so inexpensive, and that it must not be able to handle tracking,” said Isaac Tawil, DDS, whose Brooklyn, NY, practice is outfitted with multiple technologies from SHINING 3D, including the Aoralscan 3, a wireless intraoral scanner, the MetiSmile 3D facial scanner, and the AccuFab desktop 3D printer. “If I start scanning and I want to go back to another section, it finds the hole in an instant and fills it right in, which is important, especially when I’m doing full-arch scans and need to capture every nook and cranny.”

He added that Aoralscan’s ability to accurately capture the full range of tissue, even in a wet or bloody environment, is wonderful, as well as an AI feature that automatically blocks out the lip and tongue. “You can scan an arch in 30 to 60 seconds with such ease. It’s just an exceptional scanner at an extremely affordable price,” Dr. Tawil said.

He calls the MetiSmile facial scanner a game changer, as it takes photos of patients from multiple angles to construct color-accurate and realistic 3D facial data in just 10 seconds.

“We just tell the patient to smile wide, and they’ll turn all the way to the left, and then all the way to the right, and now we have a beautiful 3D facial scan that we can merge with our intraoral scan,” said Dr. Tawil. “It allows us to create a true smile design or digital waxup that will relate much better to the patient, and allows us to achieve a much more accurate restoration or temporization.”

 Seeing Patients in 3D

Case in point is a recent patient of record who returned for work on his lower teeth. “He had a failed implant, and we borrowed 3 mms from the lower and added it to the upper so he could see more of his teeth. We already had the scan fi le for the uppers, so all we had to do was 1 scanning visit for the lowers plus a facial scan, and we were able to accomplish the work with no reduction.”

Because of all this technology, said Dr. Tawil, patients get to become part of the process instead of being alienated from it. “In about an hour, we can print out a mockup of their teeth, have them try it on, and ask them what they like and don’t like about the shape, size, or color,” he said. "It's just amazing."