3M Digital Impression

Trettenero a few months ago purchased a new device that allows him to take digital images of the teeth instead of using traditional molds that required patients to sit for as long as four minutes with a putty-like material in their mouths. The impressions taken are then used to fashion molds for crowns, bridges, veneers and related restorative products.

The device, manufactured by 3M ESPE of St. Paul, Minn., is called the Lava Chairside Oral Scanner. Trettenero said he expects it'll revolutionize his field. Trettenero does not have financial ties to the company. He is among the first in Florida to have the device, the company confirmed.

The device features a wand-shaped scanner. On the dime-sized tip are 22 miniature lenses that capture a 3-D video with millions of bits of information about the patient's teeth, bite and jaw. The images are flashed immediately to a chairside monitor so dentists can make sure they have captured a perfect picture. The images then are shot to a lab where technicians use the computer images to build a prototype, layer by layer, of the patient's teeth.

Trettenero said the models are far more accurate than anything made from traditional plaster casts.

"Every lab technician in the world will tell you that to get a perfect impression is the most important part of restorative dentistry," Trettenero said.

Without an accurate impression, it's impossible to get a perfectly-fitting crown or bridge, Trettenero said.

"There are so many opportunities for errors," he said of the traditional method.

The 3M device isn't the first to take digital images of teeth, but it is the first to capture images via video instead of a series of still photos of the teeth, said 3M spokesman Chad Naughton. The device has reduced the time patients sit for fittings by 41 percent, Naughton said, and it also has significantly cut the number of times the dental restoration products must be remade because of inaccurate fits.

Trettenero said that's been his experience - he's spending far less time adjusting crowns and bridges.

"Dentistry is going to be so much better with this," he said.

Patient Edith Waterman of Sanibel got her digital images taken and a crown fitted recently using the new technology.

"It's a perfect fit. It looks great. It feels great," she said.

The scanner cost Trettenero about $25,000 plus a small fee each time he sends data. It has not added to the patients' restorative dentistry costs, however, he said.