The iTero® Intraoral Scanner replaces traditional putty impressions with a gentle, noninvasive optical scan that captures every curve and margin with precision. Patients notice the difference immediately: no gagging, no unpleasant taste, and a much shorter in-chair time. For routine exams and complex restorative planning alike, the scanner helps make visits smoother and more predictable.
Beyond patient comfort, the iTero® system significantly reduces the need for repeat impressions. Its high-resolution imaging minimizes artifacts and distortion that can occur with conventional materials, so the dental team spends less time troubleshooting and more time on definitive care. That translates into fewer interruptions in treatment and a more efficient sequence from diagnosis to restoration.
Clinicians appreciate how the scanner integrates into everyday workflows. The wand is ergonomically designed for easy access to posterior teeth and undercuts, and the live view allows instant verification of scanned areas. When something needs a quick touch-up, the team can rescan only the affected segments rather than redoing a full impression.
At Pearly Isles Dental, we use the iTero® scanner to prioritize patient comfort and clinical accuracy. The technology helps us deliver care that feels modern and considerate while supporting the high standards we set for long-term oral health.
Digital scans produce a three-dimensional model of the mouth that is far easier to analyze than conventional stone casts. Dentists can zoom, rotate, and section the scan to evaluate occlusion, tooth position, and soft-tissue relationships in real time. This detailed visualization supports confident decisions about restorative margins, crown prep, and orthodontic movement.
Because digital files are precise and shareable, specialists, dental labs, and appliance manufacturers receive consistent, calibrated data. That consistency improves the fit of crowns, bridges, and aligners, reducing adjustment time and increasing predictability. When treatment plans require collaboration, clear digital records make communication faster and more reliable.
The iTero® system also includes tools for measuring and documenting anatomy, which helps clinicians set realistic treatment goals and timelines. Thoughtful planning based on accurate digital models leads to fewer surprises during procedures and a smoother overall experience for patients.
By integrating these digital insights into every case, our team can present options with clarity and guide patients through each phase of care with confidence and transparency.
One of the biggest practical advantages of intraoral scanning is its impact on turnaround times. Once a scan is complete, digital impressions can be transmitted instantly to dental labs or in-office milling equipment. That immediacy shortens production cycles for crowns, veneers, and other restorations without sacrificing precision.
For practices that offer same-day solutions, the combination of accurate scans and CAD/CAM fabrication allows well-fitting restorations to be designed and placed in a single appointment. Even when a lab-fabricated prosthesis is preferred, digital transmission reduces shipping delays and minimizes the risk of miscommunication that can occur with physical impressions.
Digital archives also streamline replacement and repair. If an appliance breaks or a restoration needs to be remade, technicians can work from stored files rather than requesting new impressions. This capability proves especially valuable in urgent situations, allowing for faster recovery and less disruption to patients’ lives.
Overall, the digital workflow supported by the iTero® scanner gives clinicians more control over scheduling and case progression, which improves coordination and helps patients return to full function sooner.
Seeing is often the best way to understand treatment, and the iTero® platform makes it easy for patients to visualize outcomes. Interactive on-screen models allow clinicians to demonstrate current issues and show how proposed treatments will address them. Visual aids help patients make informed decisions with greater clarity and confidence.
For orthodontic and restorative care, the scanner can document changes over time, providing a visual record of progress. These chronological views are useful for monitoring tooth movement, assessing tissue response, and verifying that treatment is progressing as planned. The ability to compare scans side by side supports targeted adjustments and more efficient follow-up care.
Patient education becomes more collaborative when the team can point to precise, zoomable images rather than relying solely on verbal explanation. That shared visual language reduces uncertainty and empowers patients to participate actively in their treatment choices.
By using high-quality visuals during consultations, our clinicians ensure that patients leave with a clear understanding of next steps and realistic expectations for results.
Digital impressions create a permanent, retrievable record of a patient’s oral anatomy. Those records protect against loss or damage that can compromise traditional stone models, and they provide a reliable baseline for future care. When follow-up treatment is required years later, clinicians can access exact scans to inform restoration or replacement strategies.
In emergency situations — such as a fractured restoration or a lost appliance — stored digital files accelerate the response. Technicians and clinicians can reference prior scans to reproduce appliances or fabricate temporary solutions quickly, reducing downtime and helping patients regain function with minimal delay.
Infection control is another practical benefit: with fewer physical impression materials to handle and store, the practice reduces one source of contamination risk. Digital workflows also mean fewer physical steps where contamination could be introduced, supporting a cleaner, more controlled clinical environment.
The combination of durable digital records and precise scanning translates into consistently better-fitting prosthetics and clearer documentation — outcomes that benefit both clinicians and patients over the long term.
In summary, the iTero® Intraoral Scanner brings together comfort, accuracy, and efficiency to modern dental care. By replacing messy impressions with precise digital scans, improving treatment planning, speeding production workflows, enhancing patient engagement, and preserving reliable records, this technology helps clinicians deliver predictable, patient-centered results. If you’d like to learn more about how we use the iTero® system in our practice, please contact us for additional information.
The iTero® intraoral scanner is a handheld optical device that captures high-resolution three-dimensional images of teeth and surrounding soft tissues. Unlike traditional putty impressions, the scanner acquires digital data without messy materials or lengthy setting times. The digital capture produces an immediately viewable model that clinicians can manipulate for assessment and planning.
Scans reduce the need for physical stone models by creating accurate digital files compatible with CAD/CAM systems and dental laboratories. The live feed and magnified views allow clinicians to verify margins and occlusion on the spot, reducing the chance of undetected errors. At the office of Pearly Isles Dental we use these digital models to streamline diagnostics and treatment discussions.
The scanner eliminates the need for impression trays and putty that commonly cause gagging or unpleasant tastes, making the experience more comfortable for most patients. The wand is ergonomically designed to access posterior areas and tight spaces without prolonged pressure or discomfort. Scans are completed quickly, which typically shortens chair time compared with traditional impression techniques.
Because only small areas need to be rescanned when gaps appear, patients rarely have to repeat a full impression procedure. The noninvasive nature of the optical scan also reduces anxiety for patients who have sensitive gag reflexes or prior negative experiences with conventional impressions. Overall, digital scanning contributes to a calmer, more predictable appointment for routine and complex procedures alike.
iTero® scanners capture high-resolution images that minimize common artifacts and distortion associated with physical impression materials. This precision improves the accuracy of margins, occlusal relationships and interproximal contacts, which are critical for well-fitting restorations. Fewer inaccuracies in the initial capture translate to fewer adjustments and fewer remakes downstream.
The digital workflow supports targeted rescans of small areas rather than repeating an entire impression when a problem is identified. Digital files preserve calibration and measurement integrity so technicians receive consistent data for fabrication. Together, these factors help reduce chairside adjustments and improve first-fit outcomes for crowns, bridges and appliances.
Yes — digital impressions can be transmitted instantly to dental laboratories or in-office milling systems, which shortens turnaround times for prosthetics and appliances. This immediacy helps practices coordinate design and fabrication more efficiently and reduces delays caused by shipping or duplicated impressions. For same-day restorations, accurate scans integrated with CAD/CAM systems enable streamlined design and milling in a single visit.
Even when a laboratory-fabricated solution is chosen, digital submission reduces miscommunication because technicians work from precise, shareable files. Digital archives also allow teams to reproduce appliances from stored scans rather than taking new impressions for replacements or repairs. The net effect is faster case progression and improved scheduling control for clinicians and patients.
Scans generate interactive three-dimensional models that clinicians can zoom, rotate and section to evaluate occlusion, tooth position and soft-tissue relationships in real time. These visualizations help clinicians explain findings and proposed treatments with clarity, showing patients exactly what is being addressed and why. Visual aids reduce uncertainty and help patients make informed decisions with a clearer understanding of expected outcomes.
The platform also offers simulation tools that illustrate potential restorative or orthodontic results, which supports collaborative treatment planning. By reviewing scans together, the team and the patient can set realistic goals, discuss timelines and anticipate clinical needs. This shared visual language promotes transparency and supports informed consent.
Scans are exported as standardized digital files that can be transmitted securely to dental laboratories, specialists or in-house CAD/CAM systems. The digital format preserves calibration and measurements, ensuring that technicians and collaborating clinicians receive consistent, high-fidelity data. Secure electronic transfer reduces the risk of loss or damage that can occur with physical models and shipping.
Because the data are shareable in real time, specialists can review cases earlier in the process and provide input that improves coordination of care. Clear digital records also make it easier to document case history and to reference prior anatomy during consults or multi-disciplinary planning. This streamlined communication supports more predictable clinical outcomes.
Digital archives create a permanent, retrievable record of a patient’s oral anatomy that can be used to recreate appliances or restorations quickly after loss or fracture. Technicians can access prior scans to fabricate replacements without requiring a new impression, which speeds recovery and reduces inconvenience for patients. Having an exact baseline on file also helps clinicians plan conservative restorations and evaluate changes over time.
In urgent situations the ability to reference stored scans shortens communication and fabrication steps, allowing for faster temporary or definitive solutions. Digital records also assist with continuity of care if a patient needs to consult a specialist or transfer treatment to another provider. Overall, archived scans improve responsiveness and clinical readiness during unplanned events.
Yes — digital impressions reduce the handling, storage and disposal of physical impression materials that can introduce contamination points. Fewer physical models and impression trays mean fewer items to disinfect, store and transport, which simplifies infection-control protocols. The scanner wand is covered with disposable sleeves and disinfected between patients according to standard clinical procedures.
Digital workflows also remove several physical steps where contaminants can be transferred, supporting a cleaner, more controlled environment. By minimizing contact with impression materials and stone models, teams can focus infection-control efforts on instruments and surfaces that remain in frequent use. This streamlined approach complements other established sterilization and hygiene practices in the operatory.
The iTero® system records precise three-dimensional models that clinicians can compare chronologically to monitor tooth movement, tissue response and restoration stability. Side-by-side comparisons help determine whether treatment is progressing as planned and identify areas that may require adjustment. These visual records are valuable for documenting clinical changes and for communicating progress with patients.
Progress tracking supports targeted interventions by revealing subtle shifts that might be missed during routine visual exams alone. The ability to document and measure change quantitatively also aids in validating treatment decisions and refining timelines. For orthodontic, periodontal and restorative cases alike, periodic scans provide objective data to guide follow-up care.
Clinicians integrate scan data with clinical exams and diagnostic imaging to develop individualized treatment plans that address anatomy, function and aesthetic goals. The detailed 3-D model enables precise assessment of margins, occlusion and tooth alignment, which informs choices about preparation, material selection and sequencing. By visualizing options digitally, the team can tailor approaches to each patient’s unique needs and preferences.
During consultations the scan serves as a shared reference for discussing expected outcomes and practical considerations, allowing patients to participate in decision-making. The practice uses these collaborative reviews to set realistic timelines and to coordinate care across specialties when needed. Pearly Isles Dental relies on this technology to enhance clinical accuracy and to ensure treatment plans are clear, evidence based and patient centered.
