The benefits of the Planmeca Emerald intraoral scanner

Dr. Ed Suh recently had the chance to try the new Planmeca Emerald™ intraoral scanner in his practice. He was impressed by how easy it was to use, its fast scan times and the accuracy it provided-and so he is purchasing the Planmeca Emerald.

He’s used the Planmeca CAD/CAM system routinely for about 10 years, and investing in the upgraded scanner will only make the process even more efficient for his team and more comfortable for his patients. 

What Dr. Suh says about the Planmeca Emerald intraoral scanner 

When I invested in the Planmeca CAD/CAM system (Planmeca FIT) about 10 years ago, I planned to delegate the use of the technology to my team members. That meant I needed to find a system that was easy for them to use, and Planmeca offered that. So, when I first used the Emerald intraoral scanner, I hadn’t scanned a case in three or four years. For somebody who doesn’t routinely scan, the scan speed is pretty phenomenal for a full arch and bite. It’s a very fast, efficient camera system.  

We absolutely know that with traditional impressions, it would take about three and a half minutes each to complete both arches and the bite, so you’re looking at patients having material in their mouths for eight to 10 minutes. Scans are much faster, and patients don’t have to deal with the goo or gag reflex. When you take digital scans, you don’t have to worry about the inaccuracy that comes with impression materials. The chances of sending an inaccurate scan to the lab are slim to none. It’s completely video capture, so you take a video stream of the dentition and then send it off to the lab. 

Not only is the Emerald fast and efficient, it’s also small and comfortable to hold. This makes it easy for beginners to use the technology. For anybody who has experience scanning, the Emerald streamlines the process, making it easier to implement into the practice. 

Most of the industry is recognizing the benefits of this technology; it’s just a matter of figuring out which digital system to incorporate into your practice. Right now, everything is being piecemealed together. That’s the beauty of the Planmeca system. These Planmeca products allow me to take a holistic approach to treatment by offering everything from 2D to 3D and CAD/CAM.  The open system incorporates every aspect of dentistry and easily works with other systems. I also use a fully embedded practice management software with Dentrix. Its centralized database houses everything I do clinically for my patients. There’s no importing or exporting of data; I have everything that I need in one piece of software.

My practice is now completely streamlined for my team members. When you add the Planmeca Emerald, you’re looking at technology that’s going to be even easier to implement because the camera is smaller and because it’s so much faster. In our opinion, there is not a digital impression system that’s this fast and efficient on the market today, period. It’s a pretty phenomenal product.