Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
By Dr Amandeep Chauhan, eDental, Karrinyap, WA
This intraoral scanner uses a handpiece to take multiple photos in the mouth that are stitched together to form an accurate 3D image. The results appear rapidly on a computer monitor. It’s very good for diagnosis and assessment of teeth, planning cosmetic cases, and for implant cases.
What’s good about it
The 3Shape Trios 5 is easy to use and can be successfully operated quickly and efficiently. While I use it most frequently for treatment planning, it can also be used for fabricating crowns, splints and mouthguards. Everything is essentially digital now so it can be used in a wide range of applications. It’s also good for patient education.
It can be used to create clear aligners for patients. While the iTero system is designed to be used with Invisalign, this unit can be utilised just as successfully. Many patients still recall the experience of dentists taking impressions in the mouth. This was time-consuming and often triggered the gag reflex. They love the simplicity of being scanned. It’s a comfortable and quick process.
We’ve owned this unit for around eight years. It’s been reliable and regular upgrades keep it working well. A quick calibration before each patient ensures the accuracy of results.
What’s not so good
Upgrades to software and hardware happen around every 18 months to two years. It would be nice if it wasn’t necessary to change the machinery every time there’s an upgrade. I understand that technology is always changing and improving but it ends up being quite expensive on the back of an expensive unit.
