---
title: "What Is Intraoral scanner? Dental Glossary | Town Center Dental"
description: "An intraoral scanner is a small handheld camera that records the shape of teeth and gums as a 3D digital model. It can replace putty-style impressions."
url: https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/intraoral-scanner
publisher: Town Center Dental
phone: +1-636-273-5866
quote: https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/request-appointment
---

Technology and Imaging

# Intraoral scanner

An intraoral scanner is a small handheld camera that records the shape of teeth and gums as a 3D digital model. It can replace putty-style impressions.

An intraoral scanner is a wand that the dentist moves over your teeth. It takes many images and joins them into a three-dimensional model on a screen. The result is a [digital impression](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/digital-impression).

Reviews of the research find that digital impressions are comfortable for patients and have a shorter working time. They are well supported for single-tooth restorations. Because a scanner captures only a small area per image, full-arch scans are stitched together, and that step can add small errors.

The digital model can be sent to a lab or used with [CAD/CAM](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/cad-cam-dentistry) systems. This entry explains the tool in general. It does not claim that Town Center Dental uses one.

## Related terms

-   [Digital impression](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/digital-impression)
-   [CAD/CAM dentistry](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/cad-cam-dentistry)
-   [Intraoral camera](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/intraoral-camera)
-   [3D printing in dentistry](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/3d-printing-in-dentistry)

## Sources

1.  [NIH PMC: Are Conventional Impressions Obsolete? A Narrative Review on Digital Impressions](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12747623/)
2.  [NIH PMC: Evaluation of Intraoral Full-Arch Scan versus Conventional Preliminary Impression](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10487891/)

## Ready when you are

[Request an appointment](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/request-appointment)[Call (636) 273-5866](tel:+1-636-273-5866)