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Volume2 Issue3
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S
upporting
Y
our
P
ractice
OasisDiscussions
EffratHabsha,DDS,Dip. Prostho,MSc, FRCD(C), is inprivatepractice
inTorontoatProsthodonticAssociates
).
She isstaffprosthodontistatMountSinaiHospitaland
currently instructsgraduateprosthodontic residentsat the
UniversityofToronto.WeaskedDr.Habsha towalk through
theprocessofusingdigital impressions for thoseunfamiliarwith
the technology.
Digital impressionsareusedtocapture
apreparationwithoutusing impression
material.Thescanned image issavedto
thecloud.Digital impressionscanbeused
inanumberofapplications:asingle-unit
crown,multi-unitrestorations,conventional
dentistry, implant-baseddentistry,
orthodonticsanddiagnosticcasts.
An Introduction to
Digital Impressions
Whatare thebenefitsofdigital impressions?
FORDENTISTS:
Digital impressions canenhanceaclinician’s
abilities, as finedetailsof thepreparation(s) canbevisualized
ona large screen.
FORPATIENTS
:
Patients arenot required toendurea
mouthful of impressionmaterial. Thedigital process is
lessmessy, tasteless and ismorecomfortable for patients.
Ultimately, patient complaints about impressions should
be reduced. Patientsmayalsoview theclinician’suseof
technology favourably.
FORADENTALPRACTICE:
It ispossible toprovide
patientswith same-day restorations, incertain situations.
Additionally, part of theprocess canbedelegated toa
dental assistant (inOntario, Level II dental assistants) freeing
thedentist toperformother tasks. This results inoverall
efficiencies and increasedproductivity for thepractice.
Using the3M™TrueDefinitionScanner as anexample, some
elementsof creatingandworkingwithdigital impressions
areoutlined in this article.
Thisarticle is intendedasaconversationopenerand
wewant tohear fromyouon this topic! Sendusyour
questionsor shareyourexperienceswithdigital impressions
systems.Doyouhaveadigital impressionsunitatyour
practice? If so,what theprosandconsofusing that system?
Whatdoyourpatients thinkof it?Sendyour feedback to
orcall 1-855-716-2747.
VisitOasisDiscussions towatchavideo interview
withDr. Habsha. The15-minutevideo includes
aclinical casepresentationof acrownpreparationusing
adigitalworkflowwithmodel fabrication.
How isadigital impressioncreated?
The systemuses a large, touch screenmonitor on
amobilecart (
➊
). This enables theclinician to
viewand rotate the3Dmodel andassess the
➊
