09.06.2026
The scanner is replacing the impression tray
An intraoral scanner captures the rows of teeth as a three-dimensional model within a few minutes. For patients this removes what is most unpleasant about the impression: the material in the mouth and the gag reflex. Especially with children, that is no minor point.
Professionally, another point carries more weight. The scan can be reproduced any number of times and can be superimposed on later scans. This makes it visible whether a tooth has moved as planned – in tenths of a millimetre, not by eye.
From the same data set come aligners, indirect bonding trays for brackets, and retainers. That shortens the process and reduces transfer errors between practice and laboratory.
The scanner does not, however, replace X-ray diagnostics: it sees the crowns, not the roots and not the bone. Planning still needs both.