Wednesday, October 19, 2011

No More Goopey Mess

Invisalign Intraoral Scanner
Our goal at Century Orthodontics has always been to be the St. Louis Leader in Invisalign treatment. We were the first in the Missouri to use Invisalign and we have consistently been one of the top Invisalign providers in the country. That's why we are the first orthodontic office in St. Louis to acquire the iOC Invisalign intraoral scanner. The scanner will allow us to do away the gooey impressions that are normally used to created 3-D models of the teeth. While this machine costs as much as a nice new car, we feel that our patients are worth it!
The benefits of a 3-D dental scanner:
-no need to have impressions taken, leading to a much more comfortable experience and no gagging
-increased accuracy leading to better fitting appliances and thus better control of tooth movement
-elimination of rejected impressions and redo’s
-ability to see the 3-D image of your teeth immediately following the scan
-Ability to view Invisalign tooth animation in a few days vs. a few weeks, allowing us to start treatment 50% faster
The scans generally take between 15-20 minutes, which is comparable to the time required for a full set of impressions. Unlike other scanning systems, iOC is a laser and optical scanner, so there is also no concern about any radiation.
Our office has scheduled 3 days of hand-on training and will begin using the scanner for most Invisalign and Invisalign Teen patients shortly. We think this is going to really improve the overall Invisalign experience and look forward to helping you smile without braces!