The Role of Technology in Orthodontics
At Lo Elliott Orthodontics, dental technology plays a role in just about everything we do.
We use technology to help us understand your orthodontic issue in detail. It allows us to make an accurate and specific diagnosis, which in turn means highly customized treatment planning to meet your needs and goals as efficiently and effectively as possible.
The information gathered through the use of our orthodontic technology also allows us to track your treatment progress and make adjustments along the way if required.
Throughout your orthodontic journey with us, you'll encounter our technology as we use it to communicate with you about your dental health, the treatment plan, and how it's all going.
Read on to learn more about the types of technology we use most often.
Digital X-rays
Digital X-ray technology uses digital sensors and a computer to produce high-quality internal images of your teeth and gums.
These detailed images allow your orthodontist to see the position of your teeth under the gums, as well as the surrounding bones, and to make a diagnosis of your orthodontic condition. It also lets them see things that may impact your orthodontic treatment, such as tooth decay and previous dental restorations. All of this information is essential to diagnosis and orthodontic treatment planning.
Panoramic X-rays
A panoramic X-ray is a two-dimensional dental X-ray that captures a single image of the entire mouth. This image includes the teeth, the upper and lower jaws, and the surrounding structures and tissues.
Panoramic X-rays provide your orthodontist with crucial information about the presence or absence of specific teeth and their roots, their form and structure, their eruption sequence, and their relationship to one another in the jaws. This provides essential insights when it comes to assessment and treatment planning.
iTero® Intraoral Scanner
The iTero intraoral scanner is a handheld imaging device that creates highly detailed, three-dimensional digital impressions of the hard and soft tissues of the mouth. Thanks to this technology, our patients no longer have to deal with the messy process of creating traditional dental impressions. These scans are non-intrusive; you simply open wide, and your orthodontist will move the device around your mouth, capturing images. It only takes a few minutes to complete.
The system then renders 3-D models of the inside of your mouth, which are displayed in real time on a touch screen.