iTero Scans Explained
How the wand does its job, which treatments rely on it, where its limits lie, and why hardly anyone misses biting into a tray of setting putty.
What Does an iTero Scan at the Dentist Actually Involve?
Your dentist moves a slender wand over your teeth for a few minutes and a colour 3D model of your mouth appears on the screen next to you as it goes. The scanner works with light, so there is no putty, nothing to taste and no radiation. At our practice in Broughty Ferry the iTero Lumina is behind every Invisalign plan and preview, and also crowns and veneers, implant crowns, retainers, night guards and trays for whitening. Dentists elsewhere can refer a patient for a scan at £120.
What It Feels Like
Honestly, very little, and that is the whole idea. You sit back while the dentist sweeps a slim wand along your upper teeth, then the lower ones, and finally across the outer surfaces with your teeth closed together. On the monitor beside you a coloured, three-dimensional model of your mouth takes shape in real time. Any area the wand skipped is simply scanned again.
Nothing presses against your teeth, you are free to swallow or pause for a breath at any point, and there is no flavour to put up with. Tell us if you gag easily: the wand spends only a moment on the back molars. Start to finish, it normally takes a few minutes.
The Technology Behind It
Using light rather than anything physical, the iTero Lumina takes a fast sequence of images which its software assembles into a faithful 3D model of your gums and teeth. With no radiation involved, a scan can be repeated whenever that is helpful. The finished file sits in your records and can be sent electronically to the laboratory or to Invisalign that same day.
Curious What Your Teeth Look Like in 3D?
A free Invisalign consultation includes the scan and your simulation.
Where the Scan Earns Its Keep
| Treatment | The scan's role |
|---|---|
| Invisalign | Creates your preview and the plan your aligners are manufactured from |
| Crowns, onlays and veneers | Sends the laboratory accurate data, so the fit needs less adjusting |
| Implant crowns | Captures the position of a healed implant so the final tooth can be made |
| Retainers | Captures the final tooth positions for Vivera or Essix retainers |
| Night guards | Produces a snug guard for clenchers and grinders |
| Whitening trays | Made-to-measure trays for whitening at home |
| Monitoring | A starting point against which future scans reveal wear, movement or receding gums |
In short, nearly everything that used to call for a mouthful of putty now calls for a few minutes of the wand.
Seeing Your Invisalign Result in Advance
The part most people remember is the simulation. During a free consultation for Invisalign with Dr Nikhil Sharma, the scan you have just had becomes a preview of where your teeth could end up after treatment, laid over a photograph of your own face, and all before you commit to anything. It is also what tells us which package suits you.
Think of that preview as the goal rather than a guarantee. Not every tooth responds identically, and how consistently you wear your aligners matters more than anything else. 2 The same scan then goes off to Invisalign, who manufacture your aligners from it.
Every year from 2022 to 2026 we have been an Invisalign Diamond Apex provider. Align Technology bases the award on the number of cases treated, and that puts us among the top 1% of European providers by volume. It is not a qualification, but it does tell you we scan and plan a great many aligner cases.
What You Gain Over Putty
- Comfort. No brimming tray, no sitting still while it sets, no retching.
- Accuracy. A rubbery impression can pull or warp as it leaves the mouth, and the plaster cast poured from it can chip at the edges. A digital file keeps its shape, so crowns and veneers tend to fit at the first attempt.
- Speed. Nothing has to set, and an air bubble never means starting over.
- You can look at it. Your teeth can be turned on screen, a chipped corner or worn edge magnified, and this year's model compared with last year's.
- Nothing in the post. The laboratory receives the file electronically instead of a jiffy bag.
- Less waste. Nothing disposable: no trays, putty or plaster to throw away.
iTero, X-Ray or CT: Which Does What?
They answer three different questions. The iTero records the outside of things, the surfaces of teeth and gum, in full colour, which is exactly what you need to make something fit or to plan how teeth will move. It cannot look through enamel or beneath the gum.
X-rays pick up what the scanner misses: decay hiding between teeth, leakage beneath an old filling, and how much bone sits around each root. Our in-house CT scanner goes a step further, producing a 3D image of jawbone, nerve and sinus to plan implants. The two are often used together, with the implant planned on CT and its crown made from an iTero scan. Our guide to CT scans covers when 3D X-ray imaging is justified.
Referring a Patient for a Scan
Dentists from across Dundee and Angus can refer patients to us for an iTero Lumina scan, charged at £120, whether it is for aligner planning, a restoration or simply a record. 1 The colour 3D files go back to the referring dentist inside 48 hours, and your patient returns to you for treatment. Only the scan you have requested is carried out. You will find the form on the referrals page.
No referral is needed for patients coming to us directly. A scan already comes with every free Invisalign, bonding or veneer consultation.
Questions
This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.