The iTero is one of the most common digital intraoral scanners in modern dental practices, replacing traditional impression material for many cases. If your office has one, knowing how to operate it well — and when it's not the right tool for the job — is a genuinely useful skill.
What it actually does: the iTero captures thousands of images per second as the wand moves across the teeth, stitching them into a real-time 3D digital model — no impression material, no tray, no waiting for a set.
How the scanner works
The handheld wand uses optical scanning technology to capture the surface of the teeth and gums as it's moved slowly across the arch. The software stitches each capture together in real time, building a 3D model directly on screen as you scan — letting you (and the patient) watch the model form live, which is often a genuinely engaging moment for patients seeing their own teeth in 3D for the first time.
Scanning technique that actually works
Consistent, slow, overlapping passes produce the cleanest scans. Moving too quickly creates gaps the software has to guess at filling in, sometimes producing a visibly distorted model. Most assistants develop a systematic pattern — typically starting at the occlusal surface of the back teeth on one side, moving forward along the arch, then capturing the buccal and lingual surfaces in separate passes.
Keeping the field as dry as possible matters more than people expect — saliva pooling on a tooth surface can confuse the optical capture and create artifacts in the model that need to be rescanned.
When a digital scan is the right choice
Digital scans excel for clear aligner cases (like Invisalign), same-day crown workflows with in-office milling, and orthodontic record-keeping — anywhere the model needs to go straight into software rather than being physically poured and handled.
When traditional impressions are still preferred
Despite how capable digital scanning has become, traditional PVS impressions are still preferred in some situations — particularly when a deep subgingival margin needs to be captured clearly for crown and bridge work, since some scanners struggle to capture detail below the gumline as reliably as a well-taken physical impression with retraction cord. Patients with a strong gag reflex sometimes also do better with a scanner, since there's no tray sitting in the mouth — though others find the longer scan time (compared to a quick impression) more tiring.
Why patients tend to prefer it
Most patients who've had both describe the scanner as a clear upgrade — no gagging, no messy material, no waiting for a set. Mentioning this upfront ("no goopy tray today, just a quick scan") often visibly eases anxious patients before you've even started.
Basic care and maintenance
The scanning tip should be sleeved or sterilized between patients per your office's infection control protocol, and the wand itself should be handled carefully — the optical components are sensitive, and drops or rough handling can affect scan accuracy. Most offices have a specific cleaning and calibration routine; following it consistently keeps scans accurate over the scanner's lifespan.
The bottom line
The iTero is faster and more comfortable for most patients than a traditional impression, with the added benefit of an instant, viewable 3D model — but knowing when a physical impression is still the better clinical choice, especially for deep margins, is just as important as knowing how to run the scanner well.
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