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June 2009 | Dental Lab Products
Forward Trends: Digital Impressions

Photo: Caspar/Getty Images

New-generation 3D scanning devices capture digital tooth-prep data intraorally as well as from tray-based impressions with speed, precision, and efficiency. by Pam Johnson and Richard Palmer

Some day in the near future, we may look back at 2009 as the year when the dental laboratory industry passed the point of no return from a traditional manual workflow toward an all-digital design and manufacture process. In many respects, all-digital dentistry is already here, and a growing number of laboratory owners have incorporated digital dentistry in some form into their strategic business models. For many dental professionals, this evolution has been a long-awaited and welcome transition to a more rapid and labor-saving CAD/CAM automation that improves quality and precision while keeping businesses competitive.

Data capture systems launched recently have expanded the entire concept of digital dentistry for practices and laboratories alike. Through intense R&D, manufacturers have created 3D scanning systems engineered to capture data from the negative spaces inside tray impressions in the laboratory or even in the practice. With the precise, detailed 3D image of the impression, CAD software reconfigures the negative form into a positive 3D representation of the prepared teeth. Working from this virtual model (similar to what is generated now by scanning a poured stone model with a benchtop scan unit), the technician can design any of a number of different components. This type of technology often is seen as a transitional step for eager laboratories that see the benefits afforded by digital dentistry but who want to accommodate dentist-clients who prefer traditional tray impressions.

For dentists who are ready, willing, and able to integrate chairside digital impression technology, systems are available that move the digital process back to the oral preparation site. By scanning the actual tooth prep and creating a digital impression, the accuracy of the data capture is enhanced, and the digital restorative process begins sooner. For laboratories working with these progressive doctors, for many labs all that is required is an investment in design software (and corresponding training), with manufacturing of components outsourced to production facilities.

We spoke with representatives from 3Shape, 3M ESPE, Dental Wings, and Sirona Dental Systems about the digital impression technologies their companies have recently brought to market or have in final testing phases ready for launch, and how these 3D capture devices bring a new dimension to the ever-growing field of digital dentistry.

Interviews with manufacturers

• 3Shape goes deep
• Sirona shines a new light on digital impressions
• 3M ESPE digital workflow offers multiple entries
• Dental Wings takes off

Just off the launch pad
Nobel Biocare’s NobelProcera scanner takes scanning to the next level.

Proprietary conoscopic holography is the technology behind NobelProcera’s new optical scanner. Designed for fast, precise data acquisition of scanned models, single copings, and impression details, the NobelProcera unit uses co-linear scanning technology to measure steep angles up to 85? as well as deep cavities such as those found in dental impressions. It features an open-air design for easy access and setup, an intuitive holder design for batch scanning of single copings, and a high-speed, stable platform for fast and accurate scanning. For more information call 800-993-8100 or visit www.nobelbiocare.com.

The NobelProcera scanner was just one of Nobel Biocare’s 2009 innovations introduced at the Chicago Midwinter Meeting in February.

COMING IN 2010!
IOS FastScan By Pam Johnson

The open-architecture IOS FastScan intraoral digital impression scanner is poised to come onto the market in February 2010. DLP contacted Martin Dymek, CEO, for more on FastScan technology.

“We are a startup company that has been engaged in bringing to dentistry a unique form of gathering digital data in the mouth,” Dymek said.
Unlike other digital impression scanners that require constant movement in the mouth to capture data, the FastScan captures 40 mm of tooth structure in a single one-second pass.

“The IOS system is a laser-line scanner, the same scanning technology used in dental laboratory scanners,” Dymek said. “Laser-line capture technology is the best method for ensuring accurate dimensional stability in the mouth and also for resolution, both of which are critical. When our device is inserted in the mouth, the laser lines travel up and down the length of the probe to capture tooth structure data.”

Digital data captured by the FastScan are in STL format and compatible with open-architecture CAD design software such as Dental Wings, 3Shape, and Neo.

Watch the IOS FastScan digital impression scanner in action.