Digital Dental Impressions: Intraoral Scan vs. Classic Impression
Digital Dental Impressions: Intraoral Scan vs. Classic Impression
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D21 Dental Excellence Team
16. October 2026
Medically reviewed by the Doctors of the D21 Dental Excellence Team, more than 70 years of Dental Experience.
Content
Content
How does a digital dental impression work, and how is it different from classic impression material? Whether for a crown, a night guard or aligner treatment, your dentist needs an accurate model of your teeth and jaw before dentures or splints can be made. Today there are two ways to do this: a classic impression using a mouldable material, or a digital 3D intraoral scan.
How does a digital dental impression work, and how is it different from classic impression material? Whether for a crown, a night guard or aligner treatment, your dentist needs an accurate model of your teeth and jaw before dentures or splints can be made. Today there are two ways to do this: a classic impression using a mouldable material, or a digital 3D intraoral scan.
The classic impression with alginate or silicone
The classic impression with alginate or silicone
The analog impression has been a proven standard in dentistry for decades.
The analog impression has been a proven standard in dentistry for decades.
- How it works: A tray made of metal or plastic is filled with a soft, mouldable alginate or silicone material and placed in your mouth. After a few minutes, the material sets. This creates a negative of your teeth and jaw, which the lab then uses to make a model.
- Uses: The classic impression remains important for certain treatments, for example complex impressions of the oral mucosa or certain dentures.
- What patients experience: Some people find the filled tray and the wait until the material sets uncomfortable. A gag reflex may occur: an innate protective reflex that everyone has and that keeps the airways clear. The impression also has to be transported to the lab afterwards, which takes time.
The digital 3D intraoral scan: how it works
The digital 3D intraoral scan: how it works
An intraoral scan doesn’t need an impression tray. Instead, your dentist moves a small camera along your rows of teeth.
An intraoral scan doesn’t need an impression tray. Instead, your dentist moves a small camera along your rows of teeth.
- How it works: The camera captures your teeth and gums image by image without touching them. Software combines the images in real time into a three-dimensional colour model of your jaw. Depending on the case, scanning both jaws takes about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Uses: Among other things, the intraoral scan is suitable for aligner treatments such as Invisalign, for night guards, and for dentures and restorations such as crowns, bridges and inlays.
Your benefits at a glance:
Your benefits at a glance:
- More comfort: No impression material, no unpleasant taste, no setting time. In studies, patients preferred the scan over the classic impression and reported gagging, unpleasant taste and breathing difficulties less often. [Source 1, 2]
- See your teeth in 3D: You can follow the scan directly on the monitor and see your teeth as a 3D model. This makes it easy to look at and discuss the planned treatment together.
- Faster route to the lab: The data is sent to the dental lab digitally, so there’s no physical impression to ship.
- Reliable results: Reviews show that intraoral scanning is often faster than the classic impression and delivers reliable results for dentures and restorations. [Source 1]
- Digital function analysis: The scan can reveal uneven tooth contacts, without an additional impression. This can also help identify a possible need for orthodontic treatment early on.
Classic and digital impressions: the differences
Classic and digital impressions: the differences
- Method: The classic impression uses a tray with alginate or silicone – the digital impression uses a small camera, with no impression material at all.
- Procedure: The impression material sets in the mouth for a few minutes – during the scan, the images are continuously combined into a 3D model.
- Comfort: The impression tray can trigger the natural gag reflex – many patients find the scan more comfortable.
- Result: A negative impression, which is used to make a model – a digital 3D colour model that is visible directly on the monitor.
- Route to the lab: The impression is transported, and pressure marks on the impression or changes, e.g. from heat, can occur in the process – the scan data is sent digitally.
- Uses: The classic impression is mainly used for complex mucosa impressions and certain dentures – the digital scan is used for aligners, splints, crowns, bridges and inlays, among other things.
Conclusion: analog and digital complement each other
Conclusion: analog and digital complement each other
The 3D intraoral scan makes dental impressions more comfortable for many patients: no impression material, a direct look at your own 3D model, and fast digital transfer to the lab. The classic impression is still a proven method and remains the right choice for certain treatments.
The 3D intraoral scan makes dental impressions more comfortable for many patients: no impression material, a direct look at your own 3D model, and fast digital transfer to the lab. The classic impression is still a proven method and remains the right choice for certain treatments.
That’s why, at Dental21, we choose the method for each treatment that is medically suitable and offers you as much comfort as possible. We’re happy to discuss in person which method is right for you.
That’s why, at Dental21, we choose the method for each treatment that is medically suitable and offers you as much comfort as possible. We’re happy to discuss in person which method is right for you.
Planning aligner treatment, a crown or a splint? Book your consultation at Dental21 online.
Planning aligner treatment, a crown or a splint? Book your consultation at Dental21 online.
Sources
Sources
- Siqueira R, Galli M, Chen Z, Mendonça G, Meirelles L, Wang HL, Chan HL. Intraoral scanning reduces procedure time and improves patient comfort in fixed prosthodontics and implant dentistry: a systematic review. Clinical Oral Investigations. 2021;25(12):6517–6531.
- de Paris Matos T, Wambier LM, Favoreto MW, Rezende CEE, Reis A, Loguercio AD, Gonzaga CC. Patient-related outcomes of conventional impression making versus intraoral scanning for prosthetic rehabilitation: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. 2023.
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