iTero Scans: No Putty
How the scanner works, the treatments we use it for, the things it can't show, and why most people are happy never to bite into a putty tray again.
What Is an iTero Scan Like at the Dentist?
Your dentist glides a small wand around your teeth, and within a few minutes a coloured 3D model of your mouth takes shape on screen. There's no putty, no taste and no radiation, because the scanner works with light. At Lanark Smile Studios the iTero scanner is behind our Invisalign plans and previews, and it also records teeth for whitening trays, night guards, retainers, crowns, veneers and implant crowns. Dentists elsewhere can send patients to us for a scan at £120.
What the Scan Feels Like
Very little, which is exactly why people like it. You recline and your dentist moves a slim handheld wand over your upper teeth, then the lower teeth, then across the outer surfaces while you bite together. As it travels, a colour 3D image of your mouth builds on the screen. Any patch it misses is filled in by passing the wand over that area again.
The tip doesn't have to press anywhere, you can swallow or pause whenever you want, and there's no taste to it. If you gag easily, let us know: the wand spends only a moment right at the back. The scan generally takes a few minutes.
How It Works
Our iTero scanner takes a rapid series of images using light, and software stitches them together into a precise digital model of your teeth and gums. Because no radiation is involved, scans can be repeated whenever that's useful. The file is stored in your notes and can reach Invisalign or the dental laboratory digitally that same day.
View Your Own Teeth in 3D
Your scan and simulation come with every free Invisalign consultation.
Treatments It Helps With
| Treatment | How the scan is used |
|---|---|
| Invisalign | Produces the simulation, then the plan each aligner is manufactured to |
| Crowns, onlays and veneers | Sends the laboratory exact measurements, so fewer adjustments when fitting |
| Implant crowns | Captures where the healed implant sits, for the final tooth |
| Retainers | Records your straightened teeth for Vivera or Essix retainers |
| Night guards | A snug guard for people who clench or grind |
| Whitening trays | Made-to-measure trays for home whitening |
| Monitoring | A reference to compare future scans against for wear, drift or gum recession |
In short, nearly everything that used to involve biting into putty now takes a few minutes with the wand.
Seeing Your Invisalign Result First
For many people, the simulation is what sticks in the memory. At a free Invisalign consultation with Dr Kalsi or Dr Gray, your scan becomes a preview of how your teeth could look after treatment, shown on a photograph of your face before you've committed to anything. It also helps us choose the right package.
See the preview as the plan's goal, not a promise. Teeth vary in how they respond, and how consistently you wear the aligners matters most. 2 That same scan is then sent to Invisalign for your aligners to be made.
Our group has held Invisalign Diamond Apex status in every year from 2022 to 2026. Align Technology awards it by number of cases treated, which places us in the top 1% of providers in Europe on volume. That speaks to how much aligner work passes through our scanner, rather than to any qualification.
Digital Scans Versus Putty
- More comfortable. No brimming tray, no waiting for it to set, no retching.
- More accurate. A rubbery impression can tear or warp as it's removed, and the plaster model cast from it can chip. A digital file keeps its shape, helping crowns and veneers fit at the first attempt.
- Quicker. Nothing to set and no retakes because of an air bubble.
- Easy to see. We can turn your teeth around on screen, zoom in on a chip or a worn area, and compare this year's scan with last year's.
- Nothing in the post. Files go to the laboratory electronically instead of in a padded envelope.
- Less waste. No disposable trays, putty or plaster.
Scan, X-Ray or CT: Which Does What?
They're three different tools. The iTero scanner only ever sees surfaces, recording enamel and gum in full colour, and surfaces are all you need when something has to fit snugly or teeth are being moved. Whatever lies inside a tooth or under the gumline is invisible to it.
X-rays reveal what the scan misses: decay between teeth, leakage under an old filling and the amount of bone around each root. Our on-site CT scanner looks deeper again, showing jawbone, nerve and sinus in three dimensions when implants are being planned. For an implant the two often work as a pair: CT to plan where it goes, then an iTero scan to make the crown that sits on top. Read our CT scan guide to see when a 3D X-ray earns its place.
Information for Referring Dentists
Dentists can send patients to Lanark Smile Studios purely for an iTero scan, at £120. It might be for aligner planning, for restorative work, or just to keep a record. 1 The 3D colour files are returned to you within 48 hours, and your patient comes back to you for treatment. We carry out only what you've requested. The form is on our referrals page.
Patients don't need a referral to be scanned here. Anyone booking a free consultation about Invisalign, bonding or veneers is scanned as part of it.
Questions
This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.