Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
by Dr Rand Younes, Smile Collective Dental Couture, Roselands, NSW
I purchased the Aoralscan last year but, originally, I was a bit sceptical because the manufacturer, Shining 3D, don’t have as strong a brand presence as other companies. Fortunately, I’ve been happy with the unit and its results.
What’s good about it
It captures a 3D scan quickly. The handpiece takes around 3000 photos per arch so the quality is very detailed. An entire scan of the mouth can be completed in two to three minutes.
The handpiece comes in small, medium and large sizes to suit different patients. Obviously, I use the small head for a patient with a petite mouth but it’s also particularly effective for people with a heightened gag reflex.
Once the images are downloaded to a computer, they can be manipulated as the dentist needs. Recently, a feature was added so you can use AI analysis to look at the scans. For example, if it sees discolouration, it will highlight the area for further investigation. You can trust that it picked up on something, but it always needs the dentist to verify. I’ve seen a bit of staining on the teeth highlighted as possible caries.
I haven’t used it with implants or All-On-X cases yet, but all reports are that it’s effective with those cases. Overall, the Aoralscan is a fast, efficient unit that captures high-quality scans.
What’s not so good
Deep margins can be difficult to capture. You may need to hover the wand around the area so you capture more frames. The problem is that there are only limited frames per arch. If you don’t capture what you want within 3000 frames, then you need to rescan the whole area.
