Our dental specialists feel strongly that keeping up with continuing education and deployment of the latest technologies that are proven to improve healthcare delivery is a must. Innovation is key in providing the very best in pediatric dentistry and orthodontics. We are also very interested in improvement of patient experience when undergoing dental care and one of the most dreaded things for most patients to experience at the dentist is the impression of teeth or “dental molds.”
On that note, we would like to proudly introduce you to our new iTero Element. This is a 3D video scanner that is being employed in our office for diagnostic and appliance fabrication purposes to replace most if not all impressions that patients were subjected to previously.
This new technology is all about precision and is actually fun for our patients to experience and our staff to use. The iTero Element allows us to take a 3D digital scan of upper and lower teeth and how the bite fits together. We can then make adjustments immediately and transmit the file wirelessly for processing.
Using a video wand that is completely painless and quite fast we scan in a continuous motion across the teeth. The wand acts just like a camera as it is placed gently around the teeth as we scan. At the same time, we look at a nearby monitor or viewfinder to see exactly what information is being captured from inside the patient’s mouth. This is very fun for the patient and professional staff using it. Our patients tend to exhibit a sense of amazement when they see their teeth and bite appear on the screen real-time as we scan them.
The scans can then be sent to local computers for our orthodontists to accurately and quickly measure orthodontic problems. These scans are shown to patient families during personal family consultations to help better explain orthodontic problems and solutions to those problems.
STL files created by the Element can also be sent directly to Invisalign for quicker processing and more accurate fit than previous methods. The Element also, amazingly, can simulate Invisalign treatment outcomes immediately after a scan is completed to give our patients a general idea of what their smile might look like after treatment is completed.
Many of our patients have gag reflexes and these patients are very prone to difficulty with and fear of impressions of the teeth. While we will still use impressions to make some retainers for a variety of reasons, patients that require special treatment can have a scan done to make their retainer to make their experience much more tolerable.
The Element is focused on accuracy and also makes for faster dental appointments or a smaller number of appointments to accomplish the same outcome. That means less time in the chair for our patients, which can be especially helpful to our youngest patients!
At Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontic Specialists of Michigan, we feel that staying current and up-to-date with all the latest in our field helps us to give our patients the best care and treatments available. We don’t subject our patients to fads, however. Technology that is implemented in our office has to be proven to improve patient experience safely and to provide great value. The iTero Element allows us to do just that.
If you would like to know more about the iTero Element, please let us know and we will be happy to show you this newest, latest, and greatest piece of technology that allows us to better serve our patients.
About Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontic Specialists of Michigan, the offices of Drs. Delaney, Plunkett, Ralstrom, Makowski, Thanasas, Ker, and Associates
Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontic Specialists of Michigan have specialized in pediatric dentistry and orthodontics since 1968. Our family-friendly office gives patients and families a more comfortable and consistent experience with dentistry from the very beginning. The pediatric dentists treat children from newborn to 18 years of age while our orthodontists provide care for both children and adults, including being an Invisalign preferred provider. The ability to treat all special needs patients reaches beyond our facility, which has treatment rooms available for children who require additional privacy. Valued hospital affiliations allow dental services to be performed at DMC Children’s Hospital and St. John’s Hospital Macomb when needed. Our specialists are also on staff at Henry Ford and Beaumont hospitals.
