Simplifying the Digital Workflow: Essential Tools for Dental Models

Anyone working with digital dentistry knows that model precision is the foundation of everything. It's no use having the best equipment if the input data is compromised. How many times does the clinic or laboratory find itself hostage to a scan with unwanted details, artifacts that pollute the image and hinder planning? It's a silent pain that consumes time and often leads to costly and unnecessary rework.

The insecurity of a digital model with imperfections can delay the entire workflow. That small resin spot or a registration error can mean hours more in the chair, a new impression, or a lengthy adjustment of the prosthetic piece. The hidden cost is there, in lost time, patient frustration, and the profit margin that decreases with each redo. It's a common scenario, but it doesn't have to be the rule.

Efficiency Starts with Cleaning: Trimming and Area Blocking

Having a clean and precise digital model is the first step for any quality work. Those scanning artifacts, which appear as unwanted noise in the mesh, need to be eliminated. Imagine having the ability to, with a few clicks, remove any excess or point that does not belong to your model. This is truly liberating. Selecting and deleting unwanted regions, whether with a sphere trim or a trim brush, transforms a problematic model into something usable. And if the unwanted mesh is separate, a quick trim solves it in seconds. It's clarity, it's investment security, and predictable financial return.

But it's not just about removing what's not useful. It's also about protecting what's already good. The area blocking feature is essential for those looking to optimize time. When you have already scanned an important region, such as a preparation, and need to continue scanning without the risk of overlapping data or losing initial information, the blocking tool becomes an ally. Whether by sphere selection, circles, brush, or intelligent tooth selection, it allows you to preserve your work, ignoring these areas in future scans. This minimizes errors and ensures data integrity, a fundamental pillar for any cutting-edge digital dentistry.

Retention Analysis and Preview: Anticipating Results

Undercut analysis is a tool that changes how the prosthetist and dentist communicate, especially in the context of preparations. Visualizing the retentions of a preparation even before finishing the scan allows for corrections at the right time. This means fewer back-and-forths with the laboratory, fewer lengthy adjustments, and more patient satisfaction. It's the intelligence of the digital workflow working in your favor, allowing you to rescan with the preparation already free of retentions, optimizing the process and elevating the quality of the final work.

The result preview, in turn, is a real game-changer. Before the patient leaves, or even before completing the full scan, having a clear idea of how the final mesh will look is crucial. Seeing if the margin is well-defined, if the mesh is dense and precise, allows for real-time adjustments. This avoids the surprise of a final model with imperfections, which would require a new scan and, consequently, more time and resources. It's the certainty that what is being captured will meet expectations, before it's too late. It's clarity, it's investment security, and predictable financial return.

The MEDIT i600: The Foundation for a Flawless Digital Workflow

For all these functionalities to be fully utilized, equipment that delivers superior quality data is needed. The MEDIT i600 Intraoral Scanner is designed to be the backbone of an efficient digital workflow. Its clinical accuracy of 10.9 μm (±0.98 μm) for a full arch is not just a number, but the guarantee that every anatomical detail is captured with fidelity. This translates into digital models that are the solid foundation for any planning, whether for dental restorations, 3D resin, or orthodontics.

The agility in capture, with up to 35 FPS and continuous 3D video, means less chair time for the patient and greater productivity for the clinic. Furthermore, full-color capture with 8-bit depth enhances not only anatomical reading but also communication with the laboratory, facilitating the identification of crucial nuances and details. The open architecture of the MEDIT i600, allowing export in STL, OBJ, and PLY, ensures compatibility with major CAD/CAM software and 3D printers, eliminating extra costs and monthly fees. Weighing only 245g, it is light and ergonomic, reducing professional fatigue and ensuring patient comfort.

Other Essential Day-to-Day Features

Small errors happen, and the maxilla and mandible toggle tool is proof that the digital workflow anticipates unforeseen events. Scanned the maxilla instead of the mandible? One click solves it, without the need to restart the entire process. This is applied intelligence to save time and avoid frustration. Similarly, the margin line tool allows you to delimit the preparation margin directly on the scanned model, speeding up the laboratory's work and ensuring that the data arrives with this crucial information. It's another step towards an uninterrupted workflow.

Intelligent data cleaning, scan replay for strategy review, and the HD camera for intraoral photos complement the set of tools, offering unprecedented control over each step of the process. And to top it off, the measurement tool and intelligent shade guide add layers of precision and objectivity, ensuring that color choices and dimensions are as accurate as possible, eliminating subjectivity and reinforcing diagnostic and planning certainty. All of this converges to the same premise: a job well done, from start to finish.

About the author

Equipe Smart Dent

Odontologia Digital

TT

Spin-off universitária da EESC/USP São Carlos fundada em 2009 por Dr. Marcelo Del Guerra (PhD Eng./USP, FAPESP ID 1694) e Marcelo Cestari (1.343 citações Google Scholar) no NUMA/USP. Pioneira em resinas 3D odontológicas no Brasil e nos EUA. FDA Classe II nº 3027526455 · ANVISA. Wikidata: Q139535514.