Dental Asia November/December 2023

USER REPORT
apps such as model builders, ortho
simulators, and smile design simulators.
With the rising accessibility of 3D printing,
software apps are becoming competitive
advantages for customers.
The TRIOS range is often seen as a premium
‘scan-and-send’ option having some of the
ideal software on the market. They are also
developing different aspects of their software
such software apps, the Unite 3Shape store,
AI designing via 3Shape Automate and
an integration hub with various mills and
printers.
Medit scanners disrupted the scanning
market in 2019, gaining a large market
share quickly. It is also relatively affordable
compared to the other scanners while having
one of the most versatile scanning software
available. With the new ClinicCAD app, Medit
is also exploring the CAD space to offer
dentists a way to fabricate designs for crown
and bridge for milling or printing. What
makes Medit stand out is its free software
apps, including the CAD.
A stand-out Chinese product is the Shining
3D Aoralscan 3. It has one of the most
developed scanner software out of all the
Chinese brands with software apps and great
integrations. There are more affordable
Chinese products such as Alliedstar, Helios,
or Runyes, which all generally work well with
varying degrees of software development.
For workflow and integration of in-house
milling and CAD/CAM capabilities, it is
hard to beat the CEREC system in chairside
milling because of its smooth workflow and
software. This is one instance where its
Chinese brands like the Shining 3D Aoralscan 3
offer affordable options and have caught up with
other scanners in terms of hardware, but have yet
to do so for its software (Image: Shining)
capability is reflected in the price difference.
The CEREC system in its entirety is the most
expensive scanner-mill set up on the market
for chairside use. However, even against
multiple third-party option set-ups, the
quality of CEREC is clear.
Another workflow consideration is the brand
of clear aligners. If using only one specific
brand is critical for the practice, this limits
dentists’ choices for iTero scanners if they
want to use Invisalign for example, or TRIOS
3 in some regions where the integration to
Invisalign is still accepted.
Fundamentally, one of the most important
factors when buying an IOS is support.
Literature has shown that the number
one cause of inaccuracies when using IOS
devices is the operator. 2 Having trained
dentists on how to digitise, adopt and use
IOS successfully in their practices, I see
clinicians purchase scanners with little or
no training. It is critical that to get good
support from a distributor who will provide
training on things like scan strategy, getting
accurate scans and soft tissue management
for precise digital impressions. This is part of
why I started iDD, to provide digital dentistry
education globally for all dental colleagues.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS IN IOS
The way to choose the ‘right’ scanner now
for a practice comes down to a dentist’s
requirements and budget. Barring a drastic
difference in price, what separates the
‘good’ IOS from the others are software and
workflows.
Most Chinese scanners work well from the
scanning perspective but lack polish and
development for its software compared
with more established brands like Dentsply
Sirona, 3Shape or Medit. The software feels
more like a minimum viable product with
barely any features and sometimes a lack
of patient management. This is where the
Chinese products that are flooding the
market still lag behind. An exception is the
Shining 3D scanner.
In saying that, the entire industry is moving
fast. Recent developments like Straumann
Dr Ahmad believes that the CEREC system from
Dentsply Sirona is hard to beat in chair-side milling
(Image: Dentsply Sirona)
Group’s acquisition of Alliedstar, a Chinese
scanner company – means that these
products are likely to develop quickly. Just
like how such brands have caught up in
terms of hardware, they are to likely catch up
to the market leaders on software.
The progression of low-cost scanners
has come a very long way and I eagerly
look forward to the developments in the
near future. IOS prices will likely stay on a
downward trend, prompting its adoption in
practices and clinics even more. Moreover,
this will spur further use and integration of
the wider eco-system of digital technologies
and workflows. DA
REFERENCES
1. Al-Hassiny, A., Végh, D., Bányai, D., Végh, Á.,
Géczi, Z., Borbély, J., Hermann, P., & Hegedüs,
T. (2023). User Experience of Intraoral Scanners
in Dentistry: Transnational Questionnaire Study.
International dental journal, 73(5), 754–759.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.identj.2023.04.002
2. Mangano, F. G., Admakin, O., Bonacina, M.,
Lerner, H., Rutkunas, V., & Mangano, C. (2020).
Trueness of 12 intraoral scanners in the full-arch
implant impression: a comparative in vitro study.
BMC oral health, 20(1), 263. https://doi.org/10.1186/
s12903-020-01254-9
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr Ahmad Al-Hassiny
is a full-time private
dentist in Wellington,
New Zealand, who runs
a large chain of family
practices with his
father and brother. He
is also the founder of the Institute of Digital
Dentistry (iDD), a global provider of digital
dentistry education.
42 DENTAL ASIA NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2023