Leading the Competitive Scanner Market
TRIOS® intraoral impression scanners from 3Shape
CAD/CAM dentistry starts with scanning a case, and during the last several years, manufacturers have raced to perfect the intraoral impression scanner. One company, 3Shape, is leading the pack, which is why the company’s TRIOS® scanners are Best of Class winners.
“We have used several different scanners,” says Alan Jurim, DDS, co-owner of integrated DENTAL, “and not only has the TRIOS been the most intuitive to use with our laboratory partners, but it has improved the dentistry we deliver to our patients because restorations fit better and are more predictable.”
Jurim’s practice has been fully digital since 2012 and acquired its first 3Shape TRIOS in 2013. Jurim has since purchased a second TRIOS, but that first one remains in use.
“The TRIOS that I bought in 2013 now works twice as well and is twice as fast due to software improvements,” he says. “The software and firmware updates make it like a new system. There is extra value because the company always strives to improve what we can offer to patients, but the hardware does not become obsolete.”
Every new patient at Jurim’s practice is scanned in a designated TRIOS scan room, which features a chair that has a TRIOS scanner built into it.
“This room is specifically designed for the patient to gain the experience of a quick scan,” Jurim says. “They see the technology and the level of dentistry that we provide. During the ensuing consultation, they see how much information the dentist has been able to acquire in such a short time and without exposing them to radiation.”
Those initial scans form the basis for each patient’s digital library at the practice. Every scan from that point forward is added to the library.
“That information is incredibly valuable,” Jurim says. “I can utilize multiple scans over a period of several years to gain a significant amount of diagnostic information based on how the oral environment has changed over time.”
The accuracy of the scans is crucial for laboratory communication on indirect restorative cases. Several comparative university studies have documented TRIOS’ high accuracy on single units, quads, and full arches.
“The high-definition files are incredibly valuable,” Jurim says, “and the tools we have to check the scans before they are sent to the laboratory and the patient is temporized allow us to ensure a proper path of insertion and view our margins properly. We know exactly what the laboratory will see, and we can record the bite exactly the way that we want it.”
TRIOS scans are so helpful to the practice that Jurim was using them for Invisalign cases even before Invisalign officially accepted case submissions. Often, he says, up to three traditional impressions needed to be taken in order to get the perfect one for Invisalign.
“We were still required to take impressions when we began offering Invisalign treatments, but we saved time and money by scanning with a TRIOS, printing models, and sending those models to Invisalign because it cost less than analog impressioning, and we retained high-quality preoperative digital models,” Jurim says. “Now that TRIOS is accepted directly for Invisalign, we send the cases digitally, which saves even more money, and we have a clinical check back in a day or two instead of 2 to 3 weeks.”
In the competitive impression scanning market, 3Shape is determined to maintain its position at the top of the class. At the International Dental Show in March, the company unveiled not only its new wireless model but also the eventual ability to record patients’ specific jaw movements.
“When this feature becomes available, it will be a tremendous factor in how CAD/CAM will further change dentistry,” Jurim says. “The dentist and laboratory spend so much time estimating and simulating jaw movements that the ability to take a digital facebow and record specific movements will not only save time but also provide an unprecedented level of precision in knowing exactly how the patient’s jaw prefers to function.”
Jurim is confident that developments like that will continue to make the TRIOS the best option on the market.
“The 3Shape team has its eyes and ears open, which is very important,” he says. “They listen to a lot of the feedback that their customers provide online. They are able to focus on what their users need.”
About the Author
Alan Jurim, DDS, is the co-owner of integrated DENTAL and the Jurim Dental Studio as well as the co-founder of the Jurim Dental Acadamy.
