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Digital dental impressions are among the latest technologies used in restorative dentistry. With the help of lasers and optical scanners, dentists are able to create a virtual replica of the hard and soft tissues in your mouth within minutes.

In this article, our oral care experts at Dental Specialists of North Florida in Saint Augustine and Palm Coast, Florida, describe the process involved in creating digital impressions and their use in dentistry.

Types of Digital Impressions

There are two types of digital impression technologies available today. The first one creates digital photographs and provides the dentist with a series of images while the other captures the images as digital video. 

These digital impressions are made up of multiple small images compiled together by special software to create an accurate map of the mouth. You and the dentist can also see these images on the screen.

The Process of Creating Digital Impressions

The affected teeth are first cleaned of saliva before being dusted over with a contrast medium such as titanium dioxide powder. Then, a wand-like tool attached to a computer and a scanner is inserted into your mouth to capture digital images or videos of the affected tooth or part of the gums. This process only takes a few minutes.

The images or videos thus taken are then put together using the digital impression software. The final images get displayed on a screen.

Dentists examine the images thoroughly, assessing their details. The material and coloring needed for the restoration are noted. The impressions are then sent to the laboratory, where the patient’s restoration such as crown, denture, or bridge is created.

The Benefits

Below are some of the advantages of digital impressions:

• Precise and detailed impressions for better-fitting restorations
• No unpleasantly tasting material will be put in the mouth, making the process far more comfortable than traditional methods
• The time it takes to create the digital impressions is much shorter compared to traditional methods
• It is eco-friendly as there is no use of plastic trays and impression material. The digital impression is stored as digital data.
• The virtual impressions taken by the dentist can be e-mailed to the laboratory thus speeding up the process of fabricating the dental restorations 

For queries relating to your dental health and digital impressions, call Dental Specialists of North Florida at (904) 794-1000 or (386) 986-1000. You can also visit us at 10 Saint Johns Medical Park Drive, Suite C, Saint Augustine, FL 32086 and 3 Cypress Branch Way # 107, Palm Coast, FL 32164.