FAQs - Digital Scanning

At the moment we do need to take impressions of your teeth at the end of treatment to make your retainers, but we are hoping to change this in the near future.

Impressions are taken with a material that sets and can be pulled out of the mouth to be sent for casting in a stone. They are used as a record of your teeth and can also be used to make braces. Scanning is more like a 3D camera which builds up a computer image in three dimensions of your teeth and gums. The file can be used to make braces as well and also jigs to help fit your braces. We are hoping to be able to print retainers in the near future, which will also reduce the number of impressions that we take.

We may stretch your mouth a little but impressions and scans should not normally hurt at all.

Impressions can feel strange and are more uncomfortable than having scans. Impressions can make you feel that you want to wretch and you may find it difficult breathing. There are techniques that we use to help with this. Scans are much easier but can stretch your mouth a little and the tip of the scanner can sometimes feel warm.