Have you ever started a membership at a new gym? It’s a super daunting experience! You don’t really know what the layout is at first or where everything is. The machines are different, so you aren’t 100% sure if you’re using them correctly or not. Going to the gym in general is uncomfortable so any extra added to that is all the more so.
The same can be said about going digital in our restorative dental practices—it’s also very daunting! The workflow is entirely different, so it makes us very uncomfortable. Just like going to a new gym, that discomfort is all the more reason not to make the change (and to keep on doing what we’ve always done). The VivaScan by Ivoclar Vivadent is built to make that switch to digital less uncomfortable so you can do it without sweating it!
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VivaScan is a compact, standalone intraoral scanning device made to help you go digital as seamlessly as possible. It simply plugs into a properly specced laptop and it is ready to go. The VivaScan has two different-sized tips, small and regular, so scanning mouths of all sizes is easier. The integrated HD camera takes beautiful high-definition imagery as the VivaScan scans the dentition. Scanning is simple and learned with just a few short video lessons and practice runs.
VivaScan is best suited for use with laboratory-driven restorative dentistry. Whether a single unit, a quadrant, or an arch, the VivaScan can help you capture it. After the scan is done, you have the opportunity to mark your margin for the lab. And after that’s done and the prescription is filled out, the scan heads to the Ivoclar cloud for your lab to download it and design your restoration. Obviously all restorative materials can be made on a VivaScan scan, but materials such as e.max and e.max Prime are ideally suited.
Another feature of the VivaScan that helps with laboratory communication is the true color scan component. VivaScan takes true shades as it scans and embeds those shades into the metadata of the scan. As such, your laboratory has access to hundreds of shade data points of the teeth in the area while designing and manufacturing your restorations, which should lead to better shade matches.
Simplicity and ease of integration are the key factors with the VivaScan. You don’t have to be intimidated by the thought of going digital in 2022. Doing so doesn’t mean you have to overhaul your entire practice. VivaScan can make it easy for you while keeping it affordable. I only wish that VivaScan could make going to the gym easier!
Editor's note: This article appeared in the February 2022 print edition of Dental Economics.
