Desert Willow Dentistry is committed to providing the highest level of patient care and using the most advanced technology and treatment options available. We want our patients to have the safest and most effective options for dental care and to understand the benefits of utilizing advanced technology in dental treatments. We offer 3D dental impressions in Palm Desert, CA, to guide treatment, ensure accurate diagnoses, and protect patient comfort and health.

3D dental impressions are also called digital impressions. They are an alternative to using dental trays and putty to create an impression of the teeth and gums. Instead, Desert Willow Dentistry will use an intraoral scanner to capture detailed, 3D images of your teeth and gums. This allows us or a dental lab to create a digital replica that can be used to plan your dental services.

Desert Willow Dentistry may recommend 3D dental impressions to plan a complex dental procedure, orthodontic treatment, or to evaluate an oral health condition. The most common uses are for:

• Determining where a tooth needs to be capped due to damage or decay
• Creating a precisely fitted dental bridge
• Creating custom dentures that are comfortable and functional
• Determining the proper location for placing dental implants
• Creating a virtual model of your teeth for the fabrication of dental aligners
• Evaluating the progress of orthodontic treatment
• Assessing your bite in the treatment of sleep apnea or temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder

Using 3D dental impressions can significantly improve your treatment outcomes. Desert Willow Dentistry can use them to create detailed dental restorations, provide more accurate diagnoses, and plan complex orthodontic or cosmetic dentistry treatments. We can also use these impressions to detect problems that could affect your treatment options or the outcome of your treatment.

Digital dental impressions offer many benefits over traditional impressions and traditional dental x-rays. Desert Willow Dentistry will help you fully understand these benefits and the purpose of utilizing digital impressions for treatment:

• Improved Diagnostic Accuracy – Because they can create more detailed impressions of your oral cavity, 3D dental impressions allow for more accurate diagnoses and more precise fitting for dental restorations.
• More Detailed Treatment Planning – Detailed 3D impressions allow Desert Willow Dentistry to visualize all of your oral cavity, which makes treatment planning more accurate and precise.
• Increased Efficiency – Digital dental impressions can be easily shared electronically with dental labs, which speeds up the process of creating dental restorations. They can also be shared with other dental specialists to improve collaborative care.
• Precise Placement of Dental Implants – Using 3D impressions allows Desert Willow Dentistry to assess bone density and identify optimal placement for dental implants.
• More Effective Orthodontic and Endodontic Treatment – Desert Willow Dentistry can also use digital impressions to evaluate the positions of your teeth and the alignment of your jaw to aid in orthodontic treatment planning. She can also use the scans to evaluate your root canal anatomy and plan root canal therapy.
• Greater Patient Education – 3D impressions allow Desert Willow Dentistry to provide better patient education and explain complex conditions and treatment plans.
• Less Invasive and More Comfortable – Digital dental impressions are often more comfortable, as they are non-invasive and don’t require you to bite down on a mold or use sticky dental putty.

Desert Willow Dentistry will make sure you know exactly what to expect from the 3D dental impression process so you can prepare. While each patient’s treatment plan is different, here is a look at the general process:

• Preparation and Placement – Desert Willow Dentistry will prepare your mouth by cleaning your teeth and ensuring there are no obstructions that could affect the scan.
• Scan – Desert Willow Dentistry will move a small handheld scanner around the interior of your mouth to capture thousands of detailed digital images.
• Review and Treatment Planning – When the scans are complete, they will be digitally processed using a computer program. The program creates a detailed 3D model of your mouth. Desert Willow Dentistry will then evaluate the images and go over the results and your treatment plan.
• Dental Procedure – Desert Willow Dentistry will use the digital impressions to plan or complete your dental procedure, such as creating a restoration, planning or evaluating treatment, or monitoring your dental health.

If you’re interested in learning more or if you want to know if you should consider getting a 3D dental impression in Palm Desert, CA, Desert Willow Dentistry. Desert Willow Dentistry has more than two decades of dentistry experience and is committed to being your trusted partner in dental care. Desert Willow Dentistry skilled, compassionate team can help you better understand your oral health so that you can take control and make lifestyle changes to improve it. Call us now or fill out our online contact form to schedule an appointment.