Digital intraoral scanning has replaced the old putty tray with a small wand and a screen. You’ll relax in the chair, the wand will glide across your teeth, and a 3D model of your smile will build itself on the monitor beside you. No trays. No putty. Most scans wrap up in a few minutes, and you’ll see the finished model before you stand up.
What Is Digital Intraoral Scanning?
Digital intraoral scanning uses a handheld wand to capture a continuous stream of images inside your mouth, stitching them together into a precise 3D model of your teeth, gums, and bite. The scan replaces traditional putty impressions and creates a digital file your board-certified orthodontist uses for treatment planning and appliance fabrication.
That file is the foundation for almost everything that follows. It’s the basis for your diagnostic records, your Invisalign clear aligner trays, and the 100% customized brackets used in LightForce clear braces. Because the model lives as data rather than a plaster cast, it can be shared, measured, and revisited whenever your care team needs it.
Common scanners you may hear about include iTero and 3Shape TRIOS. Both work the same basic way: light, optics, and software doing the work that goopy trays used to do.
At Griffin & Errera Orthodontics, this process is what we call digital mapping. There’s no alginate, no polyvinyl siloxane material setting in your mouth for minutes at a time, and no tray pressing against the back of your throat. You breathe normally the whole time. If you’ve ever dreaded impressions, this is the part of the visit that tends to surprise people most.
How the Scanning Appointment Works, Step by Step
A digital intraoral scan usually takes only a few minutes, often somewhere in the range of 3 to 10 minutes from start to finish. Your teeth get a quick drying, the wand glides along each surface of both arches, and your bite is captured with your teeth closed. The 3D model builds on screen in real time, so any gap can be rescanned instantly.
Here’s how the visit usually unfolds:
- Prep and positioning. A member of our team of experts lightly dries your teeth so the optics read clearly. A soft cheek retractor may be placed to keep lips and cheeks out of the way. It takes seconds.
- Scanning the upper and lower arches. The wand travels along the outside surfaces, the inside surfaces, and the biting surfaces of every tooth. You’ll hear a gentle chime as sections lock in. You can swallow, pause, or ask for a break at any point.
- Capturing your bite. You’ll close your teeth together naturally while the wand records how the two arches meet. This step shows exactly where crowding, overlap, or an uneven bite is coming from.
- Real-time review. The 3D model appears on the monitor as it’s built. If a corner of a molar didn’t register, we rescan that one small area rather than starting over. Nothing gets redone from scratch.
- Walking through the results with you. Dr. Griffin and Dr. Errera can rotate the model, zoom in on specific teeth, and show you what they’re seeing. Patients of all ages tend to understand their bite far better after two minutes of looking at their own scan than after any verbal explanation.
Once the scan is approved, the file transmits electronically to the lab or aligner manufacturer, often the same day. From there, your personalized plan starts taking shape.
Benefits of Digital Scans Over Traditional Impressions
Digital scanning changed the records visit for the better, and the advantages go well beyond comfort:
- Far more comfortable. No gagging, no bad-tasting material, no waiting for putty to set while you try not to move.
- Higher accuracy. Precise surface capture means fewer ill-fitting appliances and fewer remakes down the road, which keeps your treatment moving.
- Instant visual education. You see your own crowding, rotation, and enamel wear on a big screen. That makes conversations about your options much easier.
- Faster turnaround. Files travel electronically instead of by courier, so lab work and aligner fabrication can begin right away.
- Digital storage and comparison. Your scan is saved and can be pulled up months later to compare where your teeth started versus where they are now.
- Treatment simulations. Many scanners can generate a preview of predicted tooth movement, giving you a sense of the smile transformation ahead.
Is a Digital Scan More Comfortable Than Putty?
For the vast majority of patients of all ages, yes, and it isn’t a close call. Nothing sits in your mouth hardening while you count the seconds, nothing tastes chalky, and nothing presses toward the back of your throat. You can breathe through your nose or your mouth, swallow whenever you need to, and speak up the moment you’d like a pause. People who have spent years bracing themselves for impressions often walk out genuinely surprised by how ordinary the whole thing felt.
Why Does Scan Accuracy Matter for Your Treatment?
Every appliance we order is built from the model your scan produces, so the quality of that model sets the ceiling for how well everything fits. A precisely captured surface means aligner trays that seat fully on day one and brackets that land exactly where Dr. Griffin and Dr. Errera intend them to sit. Better fit also means fewer remakes, and fewer remakes means fewer delays in your treatment timeline.
There’s a practical benefit for our doctors too. Digital mapping lets us build molds and specific appliances that are perfectly suited to you, and in most cases we can skip messy impressions entirely. When brackets, aligners, and retainers fit precisely, teeth move more efficiently and you spend less time in the chair for adjustments.
Digital Scanning vs. Traditional Putty Impressions
Both methods produce a model of your teeth. How they get there is where they part ways.
| Factor | Digital Intraoral Scan | Traditional Putty Impression |
|---|---|---|
| Comfort | Wand glides over teeth; no material in the mouth | Full tray of material held in place while it sets |
| Chair time | Typically 3 to 10 minutes for both arches | Longer, with setting time for each arch |
| Accuracy | Detailed surface capture, verified on screen | Good, but can distort during removal or pouring |
| Retakes | Rescan one small area in seconds | Usually redo the entire arch |
| Storage | Digital file, saved indefinitely | Physical model requiring shelf space |
| Turnaround | File transmits electronically, often same day | Model must be poured and shipped |
| Gag reflex | Rarely triggered | A common complaint |
Physical models can crack, chip, or distort in transit. A digital file simply doesn’t. That reliability matters when a lab is fabricating something as precise as a 100% customized LightForce bracket set.
Putty hasn’t disappeared completely. Certain appliance types, unusual clinical situations, or an equipment issue can still call for a conventional impression. Those cases are the exception now, not the rule, and Dr. Griffin and Dr. Errera will explain the reasoning if your case is one of them.
What Affects the Cost of Digital Scanning
Digital scanning rarely carries a price tag of its own. In most practices, the scan is folded into the cost of your diagnostic records or into the overall fee for your personalized plan, which means there’s typically no separate charge for the wand, the file, or the 3D model it produces.
Beyond that, what you pay depends on whether the scan happens during a free consultation, how many scans your treatment requires, and how your orthodontic insurance benefit handles diagnostic records. Always ask for a written estimate.
A few things shape what you’ll actually pay:
| Factor | How It Affects Cost |
|---|---|
| Timing of the first scan | Scans taken during a free consultation typically carry no separate charge |
| Number of scans | Initial records, progress scans, and a retention scan may each occur |
| Appliance type | Aligners and customized brackets rely on scan data already included in the fee |
| Insurance | Diagnostic records are commonly folded into the orthodontic benefit, though the specifics vary from one plan to the next |
Ask any practice for a written estimate that spells out which records are included and which aren’t. Griffin & Errera Orthodontics builds everything into the quoted fee, with no hidden fees and everything included in your personalized plan. Clarity up front beats a surprise line item later.
Who Is a Good Candidate for Intraoral Scanning?
Nearly everyone who needs orthodontic records is a candidate. Children, teens, and adults all scan well, and people with a strong gag reflex often find it dramatically easier than putty.
Scanning works especially well for:
- Invisalign clear aligners, where trays must fit each tooth precisely from day one
- LightForce clear braces, since every bracket is 3D-printed from your scan data
- Retainers after debonding, captured the same day your braces come off
- Existing restorations, including crowns, bridges, and implants
- Progress monitoring, comparing today’s model against your starting point
A handful of situations call for a little prep first. Heavy plaque buildup can scatter the light, so a quick cleaning may come first. Active bleeding or inflamed tissue can obscure the gumline. Very limited mouth opening sometimes means scanning in shorter segments with breaks in between. None of these rule you out; they just change the pacing, and Dr. Griffin and Dr. Errera can confirm the approach that fits your mouth at your free consult.
If you’re already in braces, scanning still works. The software handles brackets and wires, which is how we capture an accurate retainer model the moment your treatment wraps up. Your smile is in good hands either way.
Frequently Asked Questions About Intraoral Scanning
Does an intraoral scan hurt?
No. The wand glides along the outer surfaces of your teeth, and in most cases it never presses into soft tissue at all. You may notice a light touch against a tooth or a cool stream of air used to dry the enamel before scanning begins. Most patients of all ages describe the whole thing as unremarkable, which is exactly what we’re going for.
How long does a digital scan take?
Usually 3 to 10 minutes for both arches, including the bite capture. Simple cases finish faster. More complex bites, restorations, or a patient who needs frequent breaks can push it toward the longer end, and that’s completely fine.
Is intraoral scanning safe?
Yes. Intraoral scanners use visible light or a low-power laser to map tooth surfaces. There’s no ionizing radiation involved, unlike X-rays, so scans can be repeated as often as your treatment requires without any cumulative exposure concern.
Will I gag during the scan?
Far less likely than with putty impressions. Nothing sits in your mouth setting for minutes at a time, and the wand can be paused or removed the instant you raise a hand. Patients who’ve dreaded impressions their whole lives frequently tell us the scan was a non-event.
Can I see my scan results the same day?
Yes. The 3D model displays chairside as it’s captured, so you’re watching your own teeth appear on screen in real time. Dr. Griffin and Dr. Errera can rotate it, zoom in, and point out exactly what they’re planning to address.
Do I still need X-rays?
Yes. A scan captures surfaces only: the crowns of your teeth, your gums, and how your bite fits together. It can’t show tooth roots, developing teeth under the gumline, jaw joints, or bone structure. X-rays and scans answer different questions, and a complete set of records needs both.