Intraoral Scanners: Which One Is Right for Your Dental Practice?
Intraoral Scanners: Which One Is Right for Your Dental Practice?
Digital dentistry continues to become more accessible, and for many practices an intraoral scanner (IOS) is now one of the first major steps towards a fully digital workflow.
But which intraoral scanner should you choose?
Names such as 3Shape TRIOS, Dentsply Sirona Primescan, Medit and Owandy IOS regularly appear when practices start researching their options. Each system has its own strengths, ecosystem and price point, and the most expensive scanner isn't automatically the right choice for every dental practice.
Here is a straightforward look at some of the options.
What does an intraoral scanner actually replace?
An intraoral scanner captures a digital 3D representation of the patient's teeth and surrounding oral structures.
Depending on the practice and software being used, digital scans can support workflows including:
Crowns and bridges
Implant restorations
Orthodontics and aligners
Digital study models
Treatment planning
Patient communication
Laboratory prescriptions
Dentures and other prosthetic workflows
For patients, one obvious benefit is reducing the need for conventional impression materials in many procedures.
For the practice, however, the bigger consideration is often workflow.
A scanner needs to fit comfortably into the way the dentist, nurse, laboratory and wider practice already work.
Owandy IOS – an interesting value option
Owandy may be less familiar to some UK dentists than TRIOS or Primescan, but the company itself is not new to dental technology.
Owandy Radiology (Acteon Group )is a French dental imaging company with a presence internationally, including France and the United States. Its wider product range includes dental imaging, sensors, panoramic/CBCT systems and associated software.
Its Owandy IOS brings intraoral scanning into that ecosystem.
Owandy offers wired and wireless scanner options, with an open digital workflow supporting commonly used file formats such as STL, PLY and OBJ.
For a practice primarily looking to introduce digital impressions without immediately investing in one of the highest-priced IOS ecosystems, Owandy is certainly worth considering.
Medit – flexibility and a strong digital workflow
Medit has become a very recognisable name in intraoral scanning.
Systems such as the Medit i900 combine compact scanner hardware with a broad software ecosystem.
One attraction for many practices is the relatively open workflow. This can make Medit particularly interesting for dentists who work with different laboratories or want flexibility rather than being heavily committed to one manufacturer's ecosystem.
Medit therefore deserves consideration when balancing scanner performance, software and overall investment.
3Shape TRIOS – a premium digital dentistry platform
3Shape's TRIOS range is one of the established names in digital dentistry.
The current TRIOS systems offer much more than simply producing a digital impression. The wider 3Shape ecosystem incorporates treatment communication, laboratory integration and numerous digital workflows.
For a practice planning to make digital dentistry a significant part of its clinical workflow, that ecosystem can be a major advantage.
The trade-off is that premium scanner platforms can represent a considerably larger investment than some entry-level IOS options.
The important question is therefore not simply whether TRIOS is a very capable scanner.
It is whether the practice will make sufficient use of the wider platform to justify the investment.
Dentsply Sirona Primescan – particularly interesting for CEREC
Primescan is another premium intraoral scanning platform and becomes especially interesting when considered as part of the wider Dentsply Sirona digital ecosystem.
For practices interested in CEREC and chairside restorative dentistry, the relationship between scanning, design and manufacturing can make Primescan particularly attractive.
For a practice that simply wants to replace conventional impressions and send digital cases to its laboratory, however, it is worth comparing the total investment with more open alternatives.
Again, it comes back to the intended workflow.
Quick comparison
Scanner | Particularly worth considering for |
Owandy IOS | Practices looking for an accessible route into open digital scanning |
Medit | Flexible/open digital workflows and a strong balance of hardware and software |
3Shape TRIOS | Premium scanning and a comprehensive digital dentistry ecosystem |
Dentsply Sirona Primescan | Premium scanning, particularly where CEREC/Dentsply Sirona integration is important |
This isn't intended as a ranking.
The right choice can be completely different for two dental practices only a few miles apart.
Don't compare scanners on specifications alone
Scanner specifications are useful, but numbers on a brochure don't necessarily tell you what the scanner will be like to use every day.
Before purchasing an IOS, we believe practices should consider questions such as:
What treatments will you actually use it for?
A practice predominantly providing crown and bridge work may have different requirements from an implant-heavy or orthodontic practice.
Which laboratories do you use?
Speak to your technicians. Ask which digital workflows they support and which scanner files they regularly receive.
Is the workflow open?
Check whether you can export your scans and send them to the laboratories and partners you choose.
What are the ongoing costs?
The purchase price is only one part of the calculation. Software subscriptions, cloud storage, scanner tips, computer hardware, warranties and support can affect the long-term cost considerably.
What happens when something goes wrong?
A scanner is a clinical tool. Once the team becomes dependent on it, technical support and turnaround time can become just as important as scan speed.
Will your team actually use the additional features?
There's little value in paying for an extensive digital ecosystem if the practice only intends to use a fraction of it.
Our advice: look beyond the specification sheet
When choosing an intraoral scanner, the headline specifications are only part of the picture.
Scan speed, accuracy figures and software features are important, but practices should also consider how the scanner will fit into their everyday clinical workflow.
Think about the treatments you plan to use it for, the laboratories you work with, the file formats you need and the level of technical support available after purchase.
It is also worth considering the complete workflow:
Patient → Clinician → Practice → Laboratory → Restoration
A good scanner should make that process easier, more efficient and more predictable.
For many practices, the right choice is not necessarily the scanner with the longest feature list. It is the system that offers the right combination of clinical capability, usability, support and long-term value for the way the practice actually works.
Digital dentistry doesn't have to mean buying the most expensive system
There is now a much broader range of intraoral scanning technology available to UK dental practices.
Premium platforms such as TRIOS and Primescan remain extremely attractive for practices wanting their respective wider ecosystems.
Medit offers a compelling alternative where flexibility and an open workflow are priorities.
And Owandy IOS is an interesting option for practices that want to investigate digital scanning at a potentially more accessible and affordable investment level.
Rather than starting with “Which scanner is the best?”, we suggest starting with a different question:
“What do we want digital scanning to do for our practice?”
Once that is clear, comparing the available systems becomes considerably easier.
Thinking about introducing an intraoral scanner?
We work with dental practices and understand that equipment decisions need to make sense clinically, technically and financially.
If you're considering an intraoral scanner, upgrading existing equipment or planning a wider move towards digital dentistry, we're happy to discuss the available options and help you understand what may suit your practice.
No one system is right for everyone and sometimes the most useful first step is simply an informed conversation before arranging demonstrations or quotations.
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