iTero: No More Putty

How Does It Work?

The iTero Lumina is a small, light wand connected to a screen. Your dentist moves it slowly over your teeth, and it captures thousands of images from several angles, which the software stitches together into a precise 3D model of your teeth and gums in full colour. You watch your own mouth build on screen as it goes. It uses light, not X-rays, so there's no radiation, and nothing touches your teeth except the smooth tip of the wand. A whole-mouth scan takes a few minutes, and if an area needs re-doing, the wand simply goes back over it. The model is saved to your record and can be sent straight to the laboratory or to Invisalign.

What Is It Used For?

• Invisalign planning, including the simulation of your possible result on your own face at your free consultation, and the scan Invisalign uses to make your aligners
• Crowns, onlays and veneers, made from precise digital data, so they fit better and need less adjustment
• Implant crowns, scanned once the implant has healed and fitted in one visit
• Vivera and Essix retainers, made from a scan of your finished smile
• Night guards, for people who grind their teeth
• Whitening trays, custom made from a scan of your teeth
• Records of your teeth over time, so we can compare scans and show you any wear, movement or gum recession

In short, anything that used to need a tray of putty now needs a few minutes with the wand.

The Invisalign Simulation

At your free Invisalign consultation with Dr Davinder Kalsi, the scan is used to show a simulation of how your teeth could look after treatment, on your own face, before you've committed to anything. It's generated from your scan during the visit, and it's what most people remember from it. The simulation is a plan of how your teeth are expected to move, used to choose the right package and show you the likely result; it isn't a promise, because teeth respond differently and wearing your aligners as advised makes the biggest difference. The same scan goes to Invisalign to make your aligners, and every package includes refinements, Vivera retainers, whitening, scans and X-rays and a hygiene visit. We've been an Invisalign Diamond Apex Provider every year from 2022 to 2026, in the top 1% of providers in Europe.

Why Is It Better Than Putty?

• No gag-inducing trays. Nothing fills your mouth, nothing has to set, and you can pause and swallow whenever you like
• More accurate. Putty can distort as it sets or when the tray comes out, and plaster models chip. A digital model doesn't, so crowns and veneers fit better and need less adjusting
• Faster. A few minutes, with no waiting for material to set and no re-takes because of an air bubble
• Easy to show you. We can turn the model on screen, zoom in on a worn edge or a chipped tooth, and compare it with a scan from a year ago
• Nothing to post. The scan goes to the laboratory or to Invisalign straight away, so there's no delay waiting for a mould to arrive
• Kinder to the environment. No disposable trays, putty or plaster

At a Scan Appointment

There's nothing to prepare. You sit back, the wand is moved around your upper teeth, your lower teeth and then with your teeth together so the software records your bite, and you watch the model appear on screen. The tip of the wand is smooth and never needs to press on anything. If you have a strong gag reflex, say so: the wand is small, it only needs to reach the back teeth briefly, and you can stop for a breath at any point. The whole thing usually takes a few minutes, and your dentist can show you the finished model straight away, pointing out anything worth keeping an eye on.

Scans, X-Rays or CT?

An iTero scan records the surfaces of your teeth and gums in colour, which is exactly what's needed to make something that fits or to plan tooth movement. It can't see inside a tooth or below the gum, so it doesn't replace X-rays, which show decay between the teeth, the state of old fillings and the bone level around the roots. A CT scan goes further still, building a 3D picture of the jawbone, the nerve and the sinuses for planning implants. At St Vincent Smile all three are on site, and they're often combined: an implant case is planned on the CT scan and the crown is made from an iTero scan. Our CT scan guide explains when 3D imaging is needed and what it costs.

Referrals From Other Dentists

Dentists can refer patients for an iTero Lumina scan at £120, for aligner cases, restorations or records.² The full 3D colour scan files are returned to the referring clinician within 48 hours, and the patient goes back to you for everything else. We treat what you refer, and nothing else, unless you ask us to. Patients can also book a scan here directly as part of a free consultation for Invisalign, bonding or veneers, with no referral needed. The referrals page has the form.

Questions

This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.