A New Digital Scanner Arrives at Smiles By Design in Heber City

Two dentists examine a dental X-ray with a patient in a modern clinic setting.

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Dreading the cold putty tray used for dental impressions? Smiles By Design in Heber City now has a new iTero intraoral scanner. Instead of biting into a tray of alginate, you have your teeth and gums scanned with a small handheld wand, and the digital file goes straight to the dental lab, so lab work comes back faster. The scanner is used for Invisalign planning and for lab cases such as special crowns, bridges and implant crowns.

What Is an Intraoral Scanner?

An intraoral scanner is a wand about the size of a thick toothbrush handle with a camera at the tip. As the dentist or assistant moves it around your mouth, it records a continuous series of images and stitches them into a 3D model of your teeth and gums on a screen beside the chair. That model takes the place of the physical mold that used to be made from impression material and then poured in stone at a lab.

Of all the technology the office has added, this scanner is the investment the practice is proudest of, because it changes one of the parts of a dental visit patients like least.

Does a Scan Involve X-Rays?

No. An intraoral scanner is an optical camera that uses light to record the surface of your teeth and gums. It does not take x-rays. When the dentist needs to see bone, roots or nerves, that comes from separate imaging, such as the office’s digital x-rays or cone beam CT.

Why Patients Find It More Comfortable

A traditional impression means holding a tray full of material in your mouth while it sets. For many people that brings on a gag reflex, and for anyone who already feels anxious at the dentist it is one more thing to dread. A scan removes that step. You can pause, swallow, or take a break, and the dentist can rescan a small area without starting over.

The research backs up what patients notice. A narrative review of intraoral scanners published in PubMed Central found that they improve both the patient and clinician experience by reducing discomfort, shortening treatment times and making communication with dental laboratories more direct (PubMed Central). The scan also fits into the comfort options the office already offers during appointments: TVs, headphones and blankets.

How the Scan Speeds Up Lab Work

With a putty impression, the mold has to be packed and shipped before anyone at the lab can start work. A digital scan uploads directly. That is the main reason lab cases now come back faster. It applies to the restorations that are made by an outside lab, such as special crowns, bridges and implant crowns.

A faster lab turnaround matters most to patients waiting on a temporary. The less time a temporary crown or bridge has to last, the fewer chances it has to come loose at a bad moment.

What the Scan Means for Invisalign

For Invisalign, the scan is the starting point of the treatment plan. The 3D model of your teeth and bite is what the planning software uses to map out how each tooth will move, tray by tray. Dr. A.J. Proctor, DMD, MPH, and Dr. Nathan Tanner, DMD, provide Invisalign and can walk you through that planned movement on screen at the consultation, before any aligners are made.

Because the file is digital, the aligner order goes out electronically as well. If your plan needs to be adjusted later, a new scan can be taken at a regular visit rather than repeating a putty impression.

How It Works Alongside CEREC and Cone Beam CT

The scanner joins the other technology already in the office rather than replacing it. Some crowns are made the same day in the office with CEREC. Cone beam CT provides 3D x-rays of the bone and nerve position, which helps with implant planning, and guided implant surgery is done in the office for suitable cases. Some extractions and implant cases are still referred to an oral surgeon when that is the better choice for the patient.

Scans are not the right tool for every case. For some implant and full-arch work, the dentist may still choose a traditional impression. Which method fits a given tooth, bridge or implant is a decision the dentist makes with you, based on your case.

What to Expect at Your Next Visit

If you are coming in for Invisalign, a crown, a bridge or an implant crown, expect a scan where you would once have had a tray. The dentist or assistant will explain what they are capturing, and you can watch the model build on the screen. Afterwards, the file goes to planning or to the lab without a trip through the mail.

New patients can see what to bring and what to expect on the New Patients page, and the full list of services, including Invisalign, crowns and implant restorations, is on the Products and Services page. Staff at Smiles By Design speak both English and Spanish.

Book a Scan With the Current Invisalign Offer

Smiles By Design is offering a free Invisalign consultation, plus $500 off Invisalign including free whitening, through . The consultation is where your first scan happens. Patients from Heber City, Midway, Wallsburg, Charleston, Francis, Park City, Kamas, Orem, Provo and Salt Lake City can call the Heber City office at (435) 657-1700 or contact the office to book, or to ask whether their case is a fit for the scanner.

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