Orthodontics with dental aligners has revolutionized orthodontic treatment, offering a discreet and effective solution for tooth alignment. These increasingly popular devices have transformed the way patients perceive and experience orthodontic treatment, with a focus on comfort and aesthetics. For dentists, this breakthrough represents a tremendous opportunity to meet patients’ growing expectations for modern, minimally invasive dental care.
However, the success of dental aligner treatments is largely dependent on accurate impressions. An accurate dental impression is essential to ensure that aligners fit perfectly and function effectively. This raises a crucial question for dentists: which impression technique to choose in orthodontics?
In this article, we’ll explore the advantages and disadvantages of different dental impression techniques for aligners, to help you make an informed choice for your patients.
Physical impressions for processing with aligners
Advantages of physical dental impressions
Physical impressions, particularly those taken with double-mix silicone or the wash technique, are renowned for their proven accuracy.
When done correctly, these impressions provide highly accurate models of the patient’s teeth, which is crucial for the manufacture of custom aligners. It’s important to get the collars and distal surfaces of the second molars right, to ensure the quality of the impression. The materials and tools required for physical impressions are generally less expensive than digital devices, which can represent a significant cost saving. a financial advantage, especially for start-up firms.
What’s more, physical impression techniques are highly adaptable and can be used in almost any clinical situation, including cases where the patient’s oral conditions make it difficult to use an intraoral camera.
Disadvantages of physical prints
However, taking physical impressions can be uncomfortable for the patient. The material used has to be held in the mouth for some time, which can provoke gag reflexes or anxiety in some patients.
What’s more, this method is susceptible to human error. Incorrect handling, the presence of air bubbles or incomplete coverage of the teeth can compromise the quality of the dental impression, often necessitating a repeat of the process.
The procedure for taking physical dental impressions is also longer and more complex.involving preparation, setting and drying of the material, which can increase the length of the patient’s office visit.
Optical impressions for alignment treatment with invisible aligners
Advantages of optical impressions
Optical impressions, taken with intraoral cameras, offer enhanced patient comfort. These devices are non-invasive and generally well tolerated, even by the most anxious patients.
Modern intraoral cameras offer exceptional precision, enabling highly detailed impressions to be captured in just a few minutes. Another major advantage is the ability to detect and correct errors immediately. If an area is incorrectly scanned, it can easily be rescanned without having to repeat the entire impression.
What’s more, digital impressions can be easily integrated into orthodontic treatment planning software, facilitating communication with laboratories and aligner manufacturers, and speeding up the overall treatment process.
Disadvantages of optical impressions
However, digital digital dental impression devices represent a substantial investment. The purchase and maintenance of these technologies can be costly, which can be a barrier for some practices.
What’s more, mastering digital impression devices requires specific training and a period of adaptation. It is crucial that staff are well trained to maximize the benefits of this technology.
Finally, in some cases, intraoral cameras may encounter difficulties in capturing accurate images, particularly with patients having metal crowns or reflective restorations, which may limit their effectiveness in certain clinical situations.
Which dental impression technique for aligners to choose?
The choice between physical and optical impressions depends on a number of factors. If your budget is limited, physical impressions may be a more economical option in the short term.
To provide a more pleasant experience for your patients, optical impressions are preferable because of their comfort and speed. For complex cases, the precision and ease of correction offered by digital impressions can make a significant difference to the quality of treatment. If you use orthodontic treatment planning software, digital impressions offer greater integration and efficiency.
To conclude
Dental impressions are crucial to the success of orthodontic treatment with aligners.
Each technique has its advantages and disadvantages, but we strongly recommend the use of optical impressions. Optical impressions offer superior patient comfort, greater precision and smoother integration into digital workflows.
By investing in optical impression technology, you can improve the quality of your treatments, reduce procedure time and offer your patients a better experience.
