When are digital impressions used?

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Dental impressions are models of the mouth, which are used most commonly to create new dental appliances and restorations and also to give the dentist a good idea of the shape of the teeth and the relationship between the teeth and jaws (this is useful for orthodontic treatment planning).

Some of the reasons you may need digital impressions taken include:

• to create a new partial or complete denture
• to carry out denture repairs or adjustments
• to make a new dental crown
• to make a new dental bridge
• to create custom-designed whitening trays
• to create a new mouth guard (a protective appliance for use when playing sport)
• to produce a bite guard (a protective appliance, which is used to address bruxism, also known as tooth grinding)
• to analyse the relationship between the teeth and the jaws (also known as the orthodontic bite)
• to create space maintainers for use with orthodontic appliances

If you need digital impressions, your dentist will explain the process and talk you though the scanning procedure. You won’t feel any pain at all and it will only take a few minutes.

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« Benefits of digital impressions Types of digital impression technology »

Guide to Digital Impressions and Scanning

• Digital Impressions and Scanning
• What are digital impressions?
• Benefits of digital impressions
• When are digital impressions used?
• Types of digital impression technology
• Digital impressions compared to traditional impressions
• What happens when a digital impression is created?
• Cost of digital impressions
• Dental cone beam computerised tomography (CBCT) scans
• Before, during and after a CBCT dental scan
• Dental CBCT (cone beam computerised tomography) scans and implant treatment
• What are digital X-rays?
• Advantages and disadvantages of digital X-rays