Dentsply Sirona sets new standards for digital impressions and aligner treatment

Digital technologies for dental and orthodontic practices are taking treatments to a whole new level. Dentsply Sirona presents the new Primescan intraoral scanner along with the fully digital workflow to create SureSmile Aligners. "These two innovations symbolize our conviction that seamlessly integrated workflows offer practices the utmost safety and flexibility," said Dr. Alexander Völcker, Dentsply Sirona Group Vice President of CAD/CAM & Orthodontics.

Faster and more precise intraoral scans than ever before

Dentsply Sirona once brought digital impressions to dentistry with CEREC. Now, with Primescan, it introduces a new intraoral scanner with well-honed impressioning technology that makes scans with a previously unknown accuracy possible, proven in a new study from the University of Zurich[1]. Primescan is the impressive response to an important need in modern practices ‒ a method of easily producing fast, precise impressions in the familiar practice environment that reliably yields clinically sound results and is simply a joy to use.

Primescan detects almost all tooth surfaces, whatever the material – even when scanning is made difficult by reflections. The result: Primescan captures the dental surfaces immediately, in the required resolution, taking very little time, and offers a high degree of definition even at great depths, giving the 3D model considerably improved detail.

Practitioners will appreciate its ability to scan soft tissue (palate, frenulum). The new scanning technology makes impressions especially fast. A full jaw impression, including model calculation, is complete in just two or three minutes.

To monitor the scanning process and to be able to assess the model immediately, the accompanying Primescan AC (acquisition center) has a modern touchscreen that can incline to ensure it is always set to the ideal ergonomic position. The AC is a fully-fledged mobile workplace that meets all the requirements made of medical products. Thanks to its large battery, it can also be run for more than 60 minutes without an external energy supply.

A radiant patient smile with digital case planning

After the scan, the data from the digital impression is available for use in a wide range of applications, such as planning and producing transparent aligners for correcting misaligned teeth. The new SureSmile Aligners from Dentsply Sirona are planned and produced based on a digital impression and an X-ray image. The newly developed, cloud-based SureSmile Aligner software also uses a patient photo during this process. This allows the ideal smile to be created as part of the digital treatment plan. Unlike with conventional concepts, dental practitioners keep control of the treatment process at all times. In the SureSmile Aligner software, practitioners can make changes to the plan and thus adapt the systems to the needs of the individual patient.

The new SureSmile Aligner software is an open system and accepts STL files from all intraoral scanners. Data from Dentsply Sirona's new Primescan and existing Omnicam scanners will be seamlessly integrated. The user-friendly software offers a choice between the "ideal" option (simply upload the photos and data and the TechCenter does the setup, staging and attachment placing) and the "custom" option (as prescribed by the practitioner). The SureSmile Ortho software version gives practitioners other options on top of all-in-one aligner production, such as indirect bonding and producing their own aligners.

"The digital impression with Primescan is the starting point for other exciting digital processes, without limiting dental practices' future decisions," said Dr. Völcker. "With SureSmile Aligners we have developed a full-service product which ranks at the highest level of clinical achievement. The combination of X-ray data, a 3D model and a patient photo enables our experienced team to plan cases in a manner that is tailored to the patient's anatomical situation. This leads to attractive, stable results that can be achieved in the least possible time."

About Dentsply Sirona

Dentsply Sirona is the world's largest manufacturer of professional dental products and technologies, with over a century of innovation and service to the dental industry and patients worldwide. Dentsply Sirona develops, manufactures, and markets a comprehensive solutions offering including dental and oral health products as well as other consumable medical devices under a strong portfolio of world class brands. As The Dental Solutions Company™, Dentsply Sirona's products provide innovative, high-quality and effective solutions to advance patient care and deliver better, safer and faster dental care. Dentsply Sirona's global headquarters is located in York, Pennsylvania, and the international headquarters is based in Salzburg, Austria. The company's shares are listed in the United States on NASDAQ under the symbol XRAY.

Reference

1. Mehl, A. et. al., Accuracy of complete- and partial-arch impressions of actual intraoral scanning systems in vitro, Int J Comp Dent 2019; 22(1):11-19, March 2019.