Hazzouri Dental Enters the Cyber Age with New Digital Impression System

A Pennsylvania dental office, Hazzouri Dental, has stepped into the cyber age with the Cadent iTero digital impression system. While this has become a familiar system to dentists, what exactly does it translate to for people sitting in the dentist’s chair? It means great news for people who need dental implants, crowns, bridges or other restorative care because the iTero system produces extremely accurate and fast results.

Here’s how it works. The dentists at Hazzouri Dental will now be able to use something very similar to a remote controlled electronic “eye” to take pictures of their patients’ teeth and bites. The digital pictures are then sent to the iTero software which recreates the images into a three dimensional schematic on a large flat screen. All of this happens in real time. Both the dentist and the patient can see the 3D model, so for those with dental phobia there’s nothing scary or mysterious about what’s happening.

The best part of this process is what’s missing from the picture. Thanks to the digital imaging capabilities of the iTero system, there is no longer any need for awkward dental trays with “silly putty” dental cement. There is always the chance that the patient will move their jaw and distort the impression due to the discomfort of the cement. If that occurs, the dentist may not detect the error until the final mold arrives, and then the patient will have to endure the entire process again, complete with a waiting process of several days to receive the mold. With iTero, the 3D image ensures extremely accurate results, avoiding ill-fitting molds and additional office visits.

Using iTero, any adjustments to the 3D image can be made immediately while the patient is still in the chair. Plus, when an accurate image is complete, it is sent to the lab via the Internet, not only speeding up the transit time and the construction of the mold, but avoiding any damage that could occur to a physical impression that must be transported to a lab.

Another benefit of using iTero deals with the material used for the teeth molds. The dental cement used for conventional molds is subject to expansion and contraction due to changes in temperature and pressure from the patient’s jaw. But iTero models are constructed of polyurethane which eliminates these problems. iTero uses a solid block of polyurethane, rather than a sectioned and pinned model made from stone, which is the conventional method. Additionally, the iTero method overcomes the potential problem of moisture and bubbles entering into the final fabrication of models constructed from plaster.

Another great benefit Hazzouri Dental can pass on to its patients is a shorter appointment time. Not only is the time for taking impressions reduced but iTero has reduced cementation time for a new crown. This translates to less time in the dentist’s chair which is beneficial for dentists and patients.

Hazzouri Dental is proud to use the iTero digital scanning system to its state-of-the art dental services, and pass the benefits of more accurate molds, and less time spent in the dentist chair, to their patients.