Dentists who were early adopters of the new iTero Lumina intraoral scanner share their thoughts on it’s benefits for practice efficiency and patient outcomes.
The new iTero Lumina offers practitioners expanded opportunities to discuss multi-disciplinary treatments with patients, while also delivering faster scanning, greater accuracy, and a wider field of capture, according to clinicians who shared their experiences at the ‘Clinical applications and impact of the iTero Lumina intraoral scanner in orthodontic practice’ presentation, which formed part of the Digital Excellence Series.
Professor Silvia Caruso, Dr Simonetta Meuli and Dr Emmanuel Dumu were early adopters of the latest iTero intraoral scanner innovation. They used case study examples to explain some of its key features and how they help to deliver better clinical outcomes, practice efficiencies and improved patient communication.
Professor Caruso highlighted the ease of scanning using the 50% smaller scanning wand, its Multi-Direct Capture technology for more data generation, its wider field of capture and 25mm capture distance for multi-angled scanning, which in her opinion all contribute to iTero Lumina’s stand-out efficacy.
Multi-disciplinary treatments
She added that these benefits give practitioners the ability to record more precise images, even of interproximal areas, which in turn offer greater patient communication possibilities.
‘With the iTero Lumina intraoral scanner, you don’t only discuss ortho with your patients, you discuss everything, so you improve your opportunity to offer patients multi-disciplinary treatments,’ she told delegates.
Dr Simonetta Meuli, an orthodontic consultant, echoed Professor Caruso, stressing the scanner’s high performance needs very little effort on the part of the practitioner or their team members. She also explained how she uses the images it generates to help patients understand their oral situation and to involve them more closely in treatment planning.
Dr Emmanuel Dumu emphasised the iTero Lumina’s scanning speed, even when dealing with challenging areas such as gaps and crowding. He also detailed its ability to improve clinical outcomes, practice efficiency and both patient and team experience.
When addressing clinical outcomes Dr Dumu commented that the scanner’s combination of functionality, including the wider field of capture and powerful software, helps him to tackle more challenging cases. He said: ‘Why do we invest in these digital machines? It’s not just to align the teeth, it’s to improve our patients’ lives. My iTero Lumina is there to help me to serve patients like they have never been served before.’
He advised that based on his personal experience of the iTero Lumina’s scanning speed that using it could save a practice that takes intraoral photographs and uploads them to a computer some 20 days per year – or 2.5 hours per day. This is time that could be used to grow the practice.
More efficient workflows
Dr Dumu added that because practice team members need little-to-no teaching about how to scan with the iTero Lumina wand, it enables them to scan with ease. The small size of the wand itself also makes scanning a more pleasant experience for patients, particularly children.
‘The scanner is not just a scanner,’ he said: ‘It’s a communication tool and it’s one of the best communication tools I have in my clinic… If I have a perfect image, I can create a better treatment plan. If I can create a better treatment plan, I can serve my patient like they have never been served before… I can achieve better workflows and great profitability because I can do more things.’
When summarising the key highlights of the iTero Lumina intraoral scanner, the three presenters concurred:
- A 50% smaller scanning wand, particularly useful for treating children and patients with smaller mouths or a strong gag reflex
- A three times wider field of capture for faster scanning
- Multi-Direct Capture technology which offers great data generation
- A larger capture distance of up to 25mm for easier scanning of complex oral areas, including narrow and deep palates
- Scan quality and speed that removes the need for bulky digital cameras
- Intuitive and effortless scanning experience for clinic teams.
To watch the presentation on demand, visit: www.itero.com/en-gb/education-and-support/courses-and-events.
You can also learn more from Dr Dumu at Invisalign Live on 7-8 June in London: cloud.emea.invisalign.com/Invisalign-live-2024-agenda.
