Experience the Benefits of Digital Impressions
Most patients who have visited a dentist have had their impressions taken. Typically, your dentist will fill a plastic tray with squishy putty and insert the tray into your mouth for several uncomfortable minutes as it slowly molds to your teeth. While effective, the experience is often unpleasant.
Drs. Clifford Degel and Carmen Every-Degel understand how uneasy the whole process can be, especially if you have a sensitive gag reflex or have difficulty sitting still. For this reason, we have added a TRIOS 3Shape® digital scanner to the many advanced tools and technology we use at our Queens, NY, practice. Our doctors can use this system to plan and design your treatment without the mess of traditional impressions.
About Our Office
Digital vs. Traditional Impressions
There are many benefits to digital impressions over traditional impressions. These include:
- Increased accuracy: The 3Shape system is outfitted with motion detection, which allows us to get an accurate impression even if you move during your scan.
- Greater comfort: Most patients can agree that traditional putty impressions are messy and uncomfortable, especially if you have a sensitive gag reflex. Meanwhile, The TRIOS 3Shape wand is relatively slim and glides effortlessly across your smile.
- More efficient scanning: There is very little preparation necessary when gathering digital impressions, while traditional impressions can take some time to prepare.
- Expedited treatment time: Most dentists send your impressions to an offsite lab where your restoration will be created. In contrast, Astoria Dental Group is equipped with an on-site lab to streamline your treatment from start to finish.
Many patients prefer digital impressions because of their increased comfort and efficient technique.

How We Use TRIOS 3Shape
We will typically use digital impressions to plan treatments such as:
- Mouthguards for sleep apnea
- Take-home trays for teeth whitening
- Trays for Invisalign®
- Dental crowns
- Dental bridges
- Porcelain veneers
- Dentures
- Inlays and onlays
When taking your impressions, one of our dentists or technicians will scan the inside of your mouth with the 3Shape's smooth, sterile, wand-like handpiece. The wand is wireless, allowing us to navigate your intraoral cavity without the added difficulty of clunky wires.
3Shape is able to scan your entire mouth at a remarkable speed, shortening your overall treatment time. Once we have finished scanning your smile, we will upload the images onto a monitor. We can create a 3-D reconstruction of your smile from angles that are only possible with digital impressions.
In most cases, we can design your restoration before your very eyes. We can then upload this design directly to our on-site computer-aided design and manufacturing units. Digitizing your impressions allows us to speed up our workflow and provide you with same-day treatment in many cases.
Experience Our Technology Firsthand
Our digital intraoral scanner is one of the many advanced technologies offered at Astoria Dental Group. We are constantly advancing our tools to provide a more comfortable, efficient, and life-changing experience for our patients. To learn more about the tools and technique we use at our practice, call us at (718) 278-1123 or fill out an online contact form.