Invisalign Itero in London: say goodbye to putty
There are many reasons why people avoid going to the dentist: needles, drills, anaesthetic, pain, lying on your back with your mouth open while some stranger pokes around inside – none of it is too appealing.
If you’ve ever had to have impressions taken of your teeth, you’ll know this is another part of dental work that can be messy and difficult. The standard procedure for taking dental impressions is for the dentist to mix up some putty, place it over the teeth and gums, wait for it to set, then remove it. This involves the patient waiting for a few minutes for the impression to set. For some people, this is a deeply unpleasant experience that can stimulate the gag reflex. Even with great care taken by the dental team, putty can get into the hair and onto the clothes and dry solid.
The great news is that advances in dental technology mean that this part of dentistry can be consigned to the past. At Graham Tinkler, we use an intraoral scanner to take impressions for our clear aligner patients. In London, Invisalign Itero, as the scanner is known, is revolutionising the way we create and fit these braces.
The Invisalign Itero in London is a handheld scanner that fits comfortably inside a patient’s mouth. You lie back in the dentist’s chair just as you would for any other examination, while the scan is performed. It takes a few minutes, but you can pause at any time – you can even stop to sneeze, and it won’t affect the readings. You breathe and swallow as normal while the scan is taking place.
Not only is the scan easier to perform and to experience, it also gives much more accurate impressions. The digital picture it builds up of your teeth and gums means that the Invisalign technicians can create your aligners with pin-point accuracy, specifically designed for you. This makes treatment quicker and more effective.
And, it also means that you can see how your smile will look at the end of treatment before it begins. The scan is loaded into a software package that creates a digital treatment plan, showing how it will progress, until it reaches its desired end point.