Dentalcompare
Clinical Director
Perhaps one of the easiest things about bringing the iTero into our office was having to explain to patients what this machine does. First, it's high tech. Most patients will appreciate that progressive stance on using the latest technology. Second, I haven’t had a single person complain that they really loved using the goop more than simply taking a series of “pictures” of the teeth. I think the hardest thing to learn was how to hold the camera to do the scans in the first place.
The camera is a bit heavy the first time you pick it up, but our trainer quickly showed us how to balance it properly. The machine has a preset number of scans that it wants you to take, and prompts you each time in a computer voice. Once you get to know the order, you can move along pretty fast, starting with the arch opposing your crown prep. So all in all, how long did the scans take? For me the first few times I was taking over 3 minutes. Definitely longer than a traditional impression, but not by much depending on the material you would use.
So how many scans did it take to top the learning curve? AKA…how many cases should you plan on doing with the trainer before you would feel comfortable to do this all on your own? About 3. It just isn’t that hard. Next Episode: Sending the case to the lab…with no packaging.