Skip the Goo and Go for Digital Impressions
Clear Braces with Color Bands Make Your Smile Pop!
September 9, 2016
Dental Cone Beam Technology — Because Sometimes You Need the Power of 3D
September 22, 2016
This is the digital age and we are taking advantage of it by offering you the convenience and effectiveness of digital impressions. Remember the days of the gooey, gummy impression tray that stuck to your mouth and teeth and triggered your gag reflex? Those days are gone! More and more people are enjoying the time-saving benefits of fast, accurate in-house digital impressions and advanced laser-scanning technology. Digital impressions with Planmeca PlanScan technology offer you a more comfortable experience and more reliable results. Just another way that Hardy Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics is making sure we offer you the best there is out there for your care!
When Are Digital Impressions Used in Orthodontics
Orthodontists often take impressions of your mouth during your orthodontic treatment. They are also an important diagnostic tool for evaluating your bite and malocclusion areas. They help Dr. Hardy understand the relationship of your jaw better. Digital impressions are also used for creating your trays for Invisalign treatment. They are needed for designing your post-braces retainers, mouthguards and nightguards that you may need, and other devices that help in the orthodontic treatment of your mouth.
Why Go Digital?
Gagging. Goop. Discomfort. Digital technology completely eliminates the need for the former tray and putty–poly-vinyl siloxane (PVS)–impressions. Digital impressions have come a long way over the years. By replacing the gooey impressions of the past, our digital intraoral scanning system gives Dr. Hardy more control and more accurate impressions, while also giving his patients a more comfortable experience and real-time education about their own treatment. Before, it wasn’t uncommon to have a PVS impression done, wait for the product to come back from the lab and have it not fit correctly and have to redo the impression. PVS impressions also could break and be misplaced. Digital impressions don’t have any of these limitations.
What is CAD/CAM Dentistry
Computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) has made leaps and bounds in recent years. Innovations with computer systems used to design and manufacture products have resulted in technology that is faster, more advanced, more accurate, and more reliable for restorative dentistry and orthodontics. Digital impressions can capture multiple images at once and transmit those images on a screen that you and Dr. Hardy can look at together. He can enlarge the images, zoom-in on the images, and even change the contrast to help you (and him) detect problem areas.
Computer-Guided Image Capture
Planmeca PlanScan allows Dr. Hardy to gather the information that he needs to perform your orthodontic treatment with ease. Computer-guided image capture and plug-and-play design allows Dr. Hardy the freedom to conduct your digital oral scans without any limitations. To better visualize and understand the conditions in your mouth the intraoral PlanScan camera–which is about the size of a pen–gives us an up-close view of the condition of your teeth and gums. With this advanced technology we can zoom in on small diseased areas, cracks, chips and worn metal fillings with extreme precision. The full-color images taken with the intraoral camera are sent to a computer screen so we can clearly see and diagnose dental problems much earlier than with traditional dental technology.
PlanScan Intraoral Scanner – Not Just Any Kind of Digital Scanner
While other offices may offer you digital impression technology, Hardy Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics offers you the best product on the market for your treatment and needs. PlanScan incorporates a state-of-the-art intraoral scanner that is equipped with blue laser technology–the only intraoral scanner in the world that can offer you this current tech. Its smaller wavelength is not reflective which allows sharper images to be produced. Capturing the fine details is exactly why this scanner is perfect for the field of dentistry and orthodontics. Treatment planning relies on information that is invisible to the naked eye. Precision is key for enabling your results to be effective.
PlanScan Offers Faster Data Retrieval and Processing
PlanScan was designed to capture better images, and more of them at a time, but to also be able to process those images with video-rate scanning and Thunderbolt™* connectivity. Digital impressions support the Green Dentistry Movement by eliminating waste and allowing for electronic storage.
Call for a Consultation
The best way to understand all that our technology can do for you is to make an appointment with Dr. Hardy so that a thorough examination can take place. With our state-of-the-art technology, Dr. Hardy can show you digital images that reveal exactly what is going on inside your mouth, head and jaw structures. You are living in the best era for orthodontic treatment. Treatment options today are effective, aesthetic, fast, and customized for your unique needs and goals. Hardy Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics offers several types of braces and orthodontic treatment options for all our patients’ unique needs. If you have more questions about the types of braces offered by Dr. Hardy at our Erie office, or would like to schedule a consultation, please contact our office today at 720-887-6003 to make an appointment.