Our Top Ten Intraoral Scanners of 2019 - Medit i500 · 13. iTero element 5D 14. ... impression data gathered by the CEREC Asia team, we rated each scanner using four criteria: speed

2019. 7. 12. Our Top Ten Intraoral Scanners of 2019 - CEREC Digest

https://www.cerecdigest.net/2019/06/03/our-top-ten-intraoral-scanners-of-2019/ 1/35

▶JOINOURDISCUSSION

EDITORIAL

OurTopTenIntraoralScannersof2019June3,2019byHsuan

Weoriginallywrotethisarticlebackin

March,immediatelyfollowingthe

InternationalDentalShowthisyear.

However,atthetimewechosenottorelease

thisforreasonsIwilldescribeattheveryend

ofthiswholearticle.Butduetopopular

demand,we’renowreleasingouroriginal

text.EverythinguntiltheLastThree

QuestionssectionwaswritteninMarch,but

we’vereaditovernumeroustimes,andour

opinionstands.Enjoy!

Hsuan.June,2019.

TableofContents1.Foreword:LearningfromOurMistakes2.CuttingtotheChase3.TheBigPicture4.TheDi�cultyofRatingScanners5.ARatingSystemthatisClinicallyRelevant6.Howaretheclassesde�ned?7.AWordonScanningE�ciency8.CERECPrimescan9.3ShapeTrios410.ChangestotheNewOmnicam5.011.Mediti50012.DentalWingsVirtuoVivo13.iTeroelement5D14.CarestreamCS3700

https://www.facebook.com/groups/CerecDigest/

https://www.cerecdigest.net/category/editorial/

https://www.cerecdigest.net/2019/06/03/our-top-ten-intraoral-scanners-of-2019/

https://www.cerecdigest.net/author/jinn/

https://www.cerecdigest.net/



Foreword:LearningfromOurMistakes

Twoyearsago,Iwroteapiececalled

ReviewofIntraoralScannersatIDS2017,

comparing14intraoralscannersatthedentalshowinCologne.Basedonhands-on�rst

impressiondatagatheredbytheCERECAsiateam,weratedeachscannerusingfour

criteria:speed,size,easeofuse,andscancompletion.

Amazingly,thatarticlehassincegarneredover200,000viewstodate,drawingplentyof

commentsandquestionsfromdentistsanddentaltechniciansaroundtheworld.Italso

spawnedabunchofsimilarreviewarticlesand,moreimportantly,helpedgenerate

discussionsonintraoralscannersaroundtheworld,particularlyinAsia.

AtCERECDigestweprideourselvesinwritinginvestigativearticlesbasedonfactual

evidence.Whileweareactuallynota�liatedwithDentsply-Sironainanyway,weare

acutelyawareofthepresumptionsthatpeoplehavebasedonthe“CEREC”inourname.

However,wedonotconsiderthisahandicap.Instead,itisaconstantremindertogothe

extramileandensurethevalidityofourclaims.

Butwearehumanafterall,andsomeofourdecisions,evenafterallthingsconsidered,

arestillsomewhatsubjective.Unsurprisingly,thesame2017articlethatwassopopular

alsoattractedafairlylargewaveofcriticism,especiallyfromthemanufacturerswho

wererankedlowonthelist.Whilemostofthecomplaintswereunproductiveandself-

serving,weacknowledgethatafewofthemwerelegitimateconcerns.

Overthelastyear,we’vediscussedinternallytoseehowwecandobetter,andperhaps

makethewholereviewprocessmoremeaningful.Sofar,we’verecognizedafewplaces

thatcouldbeimproved,andinthisarticle,wearepleasedtoshowyouanewsystemof

ratingintraoralscannersthatismoreclinicallyrelevant.

CuttingtotheChase

Ifyou’reinahurryandjustwantaquicksummary,here’sthesectionforyou.Since

therearemanyimportantcomplicationsandnuancesinouranalyses,however,I

recommendreadingthewholearticlebeforeyoudoanythingrash,likesendingmea

sternletterofdisagreement.

15.PlanmecaEmeraldS16.GCAadvaIOS20017.LastThreeQuestions18.Conclusion



Withoutfurtherado,herearetheouroverallratingsfortheintraoralscannersshownat

IDS2019:

Ourchoiceoftoptenintraoralscannersof2019.

Theverticalpositionsindicatetherankingsfromtoptobottom.Theclassesdonota�ect

ranking,andaresimplyforcategoricalpurposes.Readonformoreinformation.

TheBigPicture

Tosaythattheintraoralscannerisveryimportanttomyworkisanunderstatement.At

ourmodestclinicwith10dentalchairs,wefabricateanaverageof500chairside

CADCAMrestorationspermonth.WithclinicalexperienceinCEREC,3Shape,and

Planmeca(thoughsubstantiallylessthantheothertwo),Ihave�rst-handaccountsof

thebest(andworst)ofthesedi�erentsystems.

Backin2017whenIlastvisitedIDSwithourCERECAsiateam,itfeltasiftherewereonly

twointraoralscannersystemsthatweretrulyclinicallyviable:theOmnicamfrom

Dentsply-SironaandtheTrios3from3Shape.Thisisnottosaythatotherscannersare

unusable,buttheyreallydidleavealottobedesired.Whilepartofthiswasre�ectedin

theiroverallscore,therewerede�nitelylittlethingsthatbotheredus,andyetwere

di�culttoquantifyinourreview.

Hasthischangedin2019?



Asyouwouldexpect,theoverallhardwareandsoftwarequalityofintraoralscanners

haveimprovedoverthelasttwoyears.Thatbeingsaid,theoverallrankingofthe

scannersrelativetoeachother,forthemostpart,didnotseedrasticchanges.Thisis,

afterall,complicatedtechnology,andsoit’sunderstandablefordevelopmenttobe

incremental.The3ShapeTrios4istheprimeexampleofthedi�cultyinupgradingfrom

ascannerthatwasalreadyoneofthebest,theTrios3.

ThatiswhyIwasveryexcitedtoseenewscannersdesignsshowingupatIDSthisyear,

whethertheyperformedwellornot.Becauseitshowsthatthesemanufacturershaveat

leastreceivedsu�cientdemandfromthemarket,oratleastenoughpositive

reinforcementtomaketheinvestment.I’mtalkingaboutscannerssuchastheVirtuo

VivofromDentalWing,theAadvaIOS200fromGC,theXProfromKavo,andthe

PrimescanfromDentsply-Sirona.Ithinkit’squiteriskytoreinventnewtech,and

applaudthesecompaniesfortrying.

TheDi�cultyofRatingScanners

Thepointsystemthatweusedin2017providedaquickandeasywaytogaugehowone

IOSperformedrelativetoeachother.Herewasour2017summary.

Ourpreviousrankinglistfor2017.



Thesystemthatweusedwassuitableforasuper�cialcomparison,butconsiderthis:the

PlanscanEmerald,CarestreamCS3600andDentalWingsDWOSallreceived16points,

soaretheyequallygood?

TheDWOSwassigni�cantlyslowerthantheothertwoscanners,yetwonserious

browniepointsforbeingthesmallestofthethree.Thisraisesaninterestingquestion:

doesthesizematterifthescanningspeedisinadequate?

Inour2017article,iTerogotpunishedhardforbeingabigscanner,yethasthebiggestmarketshareof

these�vescanners.

Iwouldarguethatifthescanningspeedmakesascannerunsuitableforclinicaluse,

thensizeiskindofirrelevant.Butyoudon’thavetotakemywordforit.Ofthethree

scannersthathavereceivedthetopscoreof“5”forsize,theDWOSwasdiscontinued,

andthe3MTrueDe�nitionwasnowheretobefoundatIDS.Meanwhile,theiTero

scannersarestillrapidlygainingmarketsharearoundtheworlddespitegetting

punishedhardforitssizeinourratingsystem.Why?Becauseit’sactuallyadecent

scanneroverall,numbersnotwithstanding.

NowwhatabouttheCS3600andthePlanscanEmerald,bothofwhichI’veusedonreal

patients.Afterspendingsometimewiththem,IthinkCarestreamscansareabitmore

consistent.However,thedesignsoftwareontheCS3600work�owissigni�cantly

handicappedwhencomparedtothePlanmeca.Soifyou’relookingtoscan,design,and

millyourownrestorations,Planmecaisactuallythebetterchoicebetweenthetwo.And

thisnuanceislostwithourpreviousratingsystem



Oncewestartfactoringinthingslikescannerweight,touchscreen,cariesdetection,and

othersupplementaryfeatures,thewholepicturesbecomessomethingofamess.Faced

withthissamestrugglelasttimearound,wedecidedtoabandonthecomplexityinthe

end.Instead,wewentwithageneralizedbuteasytocomprehendapproach.Clearly,it

wasn’tperfect,andanewmethodofratingscannerswasneededforamoremeaningful

discussionrealclinicalsettings.

ARatingSystemthatisClinicallyRelevant

Webeganbyaskingourselves:Whatdowecaremostaboutanintraoralscanner?After

ourlastreviewarticle,manypeoplemessagedmetocomplainaboutthefactthatthe

pricewasn’tfactoredintotherating.Clearly,peoplethinkpricingisimportant,butisit

themostimportant?Wouldyouratherbuyacheapmachinethatisbarelyusable,or

investinanexpensiveonethatactuallyincreasesclinicalproductivity?

Frommyownexperience,Iarguethatusabilityisthemostimportant.Inotherwords,

beingabletocompleteascanwitheaseande�ciencyisthemostbasicrequirementfor

anintraoralscanner.Everythingelse,incomparison,issecondary.

Insteadofusingarbitrarynumbers,however,ourteamcomparednotes,analyzedour

scanningvideosandpickedthetopscannerbasedonthethreecomponentsofscanning

e�ciency:scanningspeed,datacapture,andsoftwareintelligence.Usingourtopchoice

asareference,wethenratedalltheotherscannersbasedonthesecriteria.

…beingabletocompleteascanwitheaseande�ciencyisthemostbasicrequirementforan

intraoralscanner.

Me.JustNow.



Sinceourrankingsarequalitative,wewantedtoprovideavisualaidforcliniciansto

reference.Digitalscannersareusedtoreplacetraditionalimpressions,sowedeveloped

athree-tieredsystembasedontraditionaltimingsforeasyreference.

Tier3:Thescannerisabletocompleteafull-archscanandexportanSTLmodel

successfully,withouttimelimit.

Tier2:ThescannerisabletocompleteTier-3tasksfasterthansilicone

impressions(around5minutes).

Tier1:ThescannerisabletocompleteTier-3tasksfasterthanalginate

impressions(around1minute).

Howaretheclassesde�ned?

Notallscannershavethesamesetoffunctions,andwewantedtoshowthisexplicitlyin

ourreview.Therefore,we’vedividedthemintothreedi�erentclassi�cationsbasedon

systemcapabilities.However,theintraoralscannersareratedpurelyontheirown

merits,andtheirclassi�cationsarenottakenintoaccount.Theclassi�cationsareas

follows:

Ourclassi�cationofintraoralscanners.MostofscannersavailablenowareeitherClassCorClassB.



ClassA=Themanufacturero�ersitsownscanner,CADsoftware,andCAM

(milling)unit.

ClassB=Themanufacturero�ersitsownscannerandCADsoftwareonly.

ClassC=Themanufacturero�ersitsownscanneronly.

It’slikebuyingacomputer:allofthemcandowordprocessing,webbrowsing,and

Youtubeshenanigans,butsomeofthemarealsoabletoplaygames,render3Dmodels,

andperformparallelcomputing.Whethertheseadditionalspecializationsareimportant

toyouwilldependonwhatyou’relookingfor.

Similarly,ifyouaresimplylookingtobuyascannertoreplacetraditionalimpressions,

thenanyoftheclassesA,B,andCwilldo.If,however,youarealsothinkingofdesigning

yourownsurgicalguides,thenyou’llneedatleastaClassBsystem.Forushereat

CERECAsia,oneofourprimaryfocusisonsingle-visitrestoration,andsohavingaClass

Asystemisimperativeforclinicale�cacy.

AWordonScanningE�ciency

Thecurrentworldrecordholderforfastestspeedachievedbyastreet-legalcar:theKoenigseggAgeraRS.

TheKoenigseggAgeraRS,seenabove,holdsthecurrentGuinnessWorldRecordfor

fasteststreet-legalcar,capableofreachinganincredible278MPH(447KM/H).Butinthe

realworld,gettingfromAtoBismorethanjustrawhorsepower.Insteadofastraight

road,wehavetonavigatesharpturns,tra�cissues,andweatherconditionstoreach



ourdestinationinonepiece.Asimilarlogiccanbeappliedwhentestingintraoral

scanners.

Completinganintraoralscanisnotsimplyamatterofwhippingthescanneraroundas

fastasyoucan.Thescannerneedstoalsoconsistentlyacquireusefuldatafor3Dmodel

reconstruction.Intheeventthatthescannerhascapturedbaddata(i.e.tongue,cheeks,

�ngers,etc…)itneedstobeableto�xthem,preferablyonthe�yandwithoutuser

intervention.

Inshort,scanninge�ciencycanbedividedintothreeparts:speed,acquisition,

intelligence.

Ourbasiccomparisoncriteriaforintraoralscanners.

Thisideaofbeingabletoe�cientlycompleteascanissointegraltotheourclinical

experiencethatwe’veplaceditaboveallelseinratingintraoralscanners.Inother

words,wepreferascannerthatdoeswhatitwasmeanttodo,anddoesitwell.

Whilewe’restillonthetopicofscanninge�ciency,Iwouldliketoaddressa

fundamentalproblemwithtestingonamodelasopposedtoarealoralcavity.



Di�erentwaystotestscannersandhowcloselytheyapproximatereal-worldresults.

Asshownatthetopintheabovegraphics,eachdigitalscannerhasatheoretical

maximumspeedthatislimitedonlybyitshardware.Unfortunately,thisnumberis

meaninglesstocliniciansbecauseitrepresentsanidealconditionthat’sunattainablein

reallife.

Atdentalshows,weoftengofortheeasyoption:scanningdentalmodels.Digital

scannersareparticularlygoodatscanninghomogeneousandopaquesurfaces,soifyou

haveahardtimescanningmodels,that’snotagoodsign.

Dr.Litryingoutascanneronamodel.



Unfortunately,ourteethandrestorationsarenothomogeneousandopaque,but

translucentandopalescent.Sowhatcanwedototestthescanninge�ciencyona

heterogeneousmixtureofenamel,ceramics,resin,andmetal?Whenyouseesalesreps

scanningthemselvesatdentalshows,that’sessentiallywhatthey’redoing.Selfscanning

showsyouhowwellthescannerisabletopickupreal-worlddata,soit’saslowerbut

betterrepresentationofrealitythanmodelscanning.

Translucentmaterials,suchastheenamel,presentsachallengetointraoralscanners,duetophysicsand

technologicallimitations.

Butthat’snotthewholestoryeither.Withself-scanning,youcanminimizetheimpactof

soft-tissueandenvironmentalinterferencethroughalotofrepetitivepracticeinthe

samemouth.Whenwescananewpatient,however,theseissuesareunpredictableand

willinevitablyslowyoudown.Youmightneedtopausescanninganddeletesome

unwantedpartsofthe3Dmodel.Youmightneedtostopfor�uidevacuationorlens

clearing.Someteethmightbehardtoreachforcertainpatients,andyou’dhavetomake

adjustmentsonthe�y.Intheo�ce,thereareplentyoflittleproblemshereandthereto

signi�cantlyimpactyourscanninge�ciency.



Demonstrationofintraoralscanneronalive-personatDentalWings.

Asfaraswecouldsee,theonlyboothatIDS2019withadentalchairsetupandactively

encouragingvisitorstotryscanningarealperson(otherthanthemselves)wasthe

PrimescanatDentsply-Sirona.Unlikelivedemonstrations,hands-onscanningcannotbe

practicedaheadoftime,andistheonlyreliablemethodtoevaluateboththeclinical

performanceandlearningcurveofanintraoralscanner.

Dr.Tsaotakingadvantageofthefullchair-sideintraoralscanningexperienceatDentsply-Sirona.

Unfortunately,sincemostofthemanufacturersonlyo�eredmodelscanning,wewill

stickwiththatforcontrolledcomparison.Asyoureadthereviewhereandothersonthe



interwebs,however,keepthisimportantdetailinmind.

CERECPrimescan

#Disclaimer2019-06:IwrotethisreviewimmediatelyfollowingIDSinMarch,buthavesince

usedthePrimescanroutinelyatCERECAsiaandourclinic.I’vedecidedtonotaddany

additionalfeedbackandexperiencetomyoriginaltextsoastobeasfairaspossibletoother

scanners.

PrimescanisthebrandnewscannerfromDentsply-Sirona.I’vewrittenananalytical

articleonitwhenitwas�rstannouncedbackinFebruary.Init,Idiscussedourhands-on

experienceandtestedthemanufacturer’sclaimsonaccuracy.Foranyoneinterested,

hereisthelinktothearticle:

NewKidontheBlock:PrimescanandWhatItMeansforCurrentandPotentialUsers

TheclaimsforPrimescanwerefast,accurate,andeasytouse.We’vedealtwithaccuracy

quitethoroughly,sojustexactlyhowfastandhoweasytousewasittouse?Here’sa

videofollowedbyourimpressions.

CERECDigestReview(2019)-Dentsply-SironaPrimCERECDigestReview(2019)-Dentsply-SironaPrim……

https://www.cerecdigest.net/2019/02/06/new-kid-on-the-block-primescan-and-what-it-means/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCZxMSNss3w

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbbV4FHVTlacHVdIFfaXuPA



E�ciency

SPEED:Scanningtraversalspeedwasde�nitelyoneofthefastestcomparedtoall

theotherscannersatIDS.

ACQUISITON:Datacapturealsofeelssigni�cantlyfasterthantheTrios4andthe

Omnicaminasinglepass,thankstothePrimescan’slargescannerheadand

depthof�eld.

INTELLIGENCE:TheAIpoweringthePrimescanissimplyamazing.Itsabilityto�x

softtissues,andothermistakes,makesforscanningexperiencethatis

signi�cantlylessstressful.

AddressingtheElephantintheRoom

Yes,Primescanisabigscanner.Whenyouholdit,thepengripalsofeelsquitedi�erent

duetothewidergirth,andthesizeofthescannerheadfeltalmostcomicallylarge,

especiallyifyou’recomparingittoanOmnicam.IfI’mbeinghonest,Ithoughtitlooked

likeafatOmnicam.

Butsincewewereableactuallyscansomeoneintraorallyatthebooth,itwaseasyforus

toseethatthesizewasnotanissueatall.Insteadoftryingtoconveythisthrough

paragraphsofexposition,Iencourageourreaderstotrythescanneronarealperson

andseeforyourself.Inouropinion,thedecreaseinmobilityismorethanmadeupfor

bytheimagecapturecapabilitiesandtheAIinthesoftware.

OurVerdict

Asmuchaswe’veagnoizedoverhowpartialourdecisionwilllook,wehaveconcluded

thatthePrimescanis,withoutadoubtinourmind,the#1scannerof2019.Whilethe

Omnicamwasalreadyoneofthefastestscannersavailable,theclinicale�ciencyof

Primescanissimplyunmatchedinourtests,especiallyconsideringthatwealsotested

onrealpeople.Keepinmind,however,thatitspriceisalsounmatched,andnotinthe

goodway.

3ShapeTrios4



TheTrios3tiedfortopscorethelasttimewewereatIDSin2017.Itwasfast,relatively

easytouse,andwasde�nitelyoneofthebestoptionsavailableatthetime.Withthe

releaseofTrios4,wewerecurioustoseehowmuchofanimprovement3Shapewas

abletomakeonsuchagreatscanner.Theshortanswer:notmuch.

E�ciency

SPEED:TherepskepttellingmethatthenewTrios4isfasterthanTrios3,but

onceIpressedthemonthedetails,theyweren’tabletopinpointexactlywhat

madethemfaster,otherthan“newhardwareandsoftware”.Wetriedscanning

withbothgenerationsbacktobackandIhonestlycouldnottellthedi�erence.

ACQUISITION:DatacapturewasonparwiththeOmnicaminasinglepass,and

I’mmuchmorepro�cientwiththeOmnicam,soextrapointstotheTrios4.

INTELLIGENCE:TheAIwasveryimpressivebutnotasaggressiveastheAIinthe

Primescan.IactuallyhadaspecialopportunitytoscanalivepersonwiththeTrios

CERECDigestReview(2019)-3ShapeTrios4CERECDigestReview(2019)-3ShapeTrios4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNjG91Mfczc




4,anditwasabletoremovemost,butnotall,ofthesofttissueinterference.

Unfortunately,weweresupervisedandnotallowedto�lmthisextratest.

What’sthedi�erencebetweenTrios4andTrios3?

Intermsofthecorescanningcapability,Trios4isessentiallythesameastheTrios3,but

withabiggerbattery(ifwireless),newscanningtips,andcariesdetection.Duringthe

exhibition,weweretoldbyasalesrepthattheTrios4isfasterandmoreaccuratethan

theTrios3,butwecouldn’t�ndanythingtosupportthatclaim.

Afterdoingsomeonlinediggingandlookinguprelevantpatents,weareconvincedthat

theTrios4isarehashedTrios3withmorebellsandwhistles.Yes,the�uorescence

detectionwasinterestingandtheinfra-reddiagnosticswasprettycool,butIwould’ve

liketoseemoreimprovementonthethescanninglatencyandstabilityissues.

OurVerdict

TheTrios3,theTrios4andtheCERECOmnicamaretiedat#2onourlist.Intermsof

clinicale�ciency,theTrios4continuesthe3Shapelegacyofgreatscanners.AsaClassB

scanner,3Shape’sbiggestadvantage,inmyopinion,isactuallynotjustitssuperb

scanner,butalsothesheernumberofclinicalindicationscoveredbytheirCADsoftware

andmodules.Thebestpartisthatfor€10,000less,youcangetessentiallythesame

scanningexperiencewiththeTrios3.

ChangestotheNewOmnicam5.0

Duringourlastreviewin2017,weratedtheOmnicamandtheTrios3withthesame

overallscore.Thisyear,withourfocusonscanninge�ciency,wehavegivenaslight



edgetotheOmnicam.WhilethetheTrios3didreceivenewsoftwareupdates,theywere

notdrasticchanges.Eventhe3Shapesalesrepsweren’tabletoclearlyarticulatehow

theTrios3hadimproved,whichisunderstandableastheirmarketingwasheavily

focusedontheTrios4.

TheOmnicam,ontheotherhand,hasreceivedthenewCEREC5.0update,poweredby

thesameAIasthePrimescan.Notonlyisacquisitionconsiderablymorereliable,butthe

softwareisnoticeablymoreintelligentin�xingstitchingerrorsandsoft-tissueissuesas

well.WhereastheTriosfocusedonextrafeatureslikemotionjawtrackingandcaries

detection,Omnicam5.0improveditscorefunction.However,sincethisnewversionof

theOmnicamhasyettobepubliclyreleased,wewillranktheoldOmnicamonourlist

fornow.

Mediti500

Releasedin2018,theMediti500isthenewscannercomingoutofSouthKorea,andis

de�nitelyagame-changerintermsofthekindofperformanceyoucangetwithout

breakingthebank.

CERECDigestReview(2019)-Mediti500CERECDigestReview(2019)-Mediti500

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsBxVQuTsuY




E�ciency

SPEED:Veryimpressivescanningspeedonthemodel(seevideo).

ACQUISITION:Thesmallscannerheadmeanslessdatacaptureoverallonevery

passpass.Thecapturespeedmakesupforthisde�ciencyandisverysmooth,but

seemstobemissingabitmoredatathan3ShapeandCERECscanners.

INTELLIGENCE:Wesometimesranintostitchingproblemsifwedidn’tfollowthe

recommendedscanningstrategy(seevideo).

SmallReservationsAbouttheMediti500

Duringourtests,Ithoughtthei500performedjustaswellastheTrios4intermsof

scanningspeedandacquisition.Insomerespects,italmostseemedtoscanfasterand

smootherthanthe3Shapescanners.Itssoftwaredidnotseemquiteaspolishedor

intelligent,butitdidgiveusdecentresultsforthemostofourtests.We’veplacedthe

i500inTier1,albeitwithreservations.Aswe’vementionedearlier,intraorale�ciencyis

drasticallyslowerthanmodelscanning,andwehaven’tbeenabletotestthisscanner

intraorally(unliketheotherscannersinthesametier).

OurVerdict

We’vedecidedtoplacetheMediti500atarespectable#5inourTopTenlist.Sincethere

isathree-waytieat#2,theMeditisreally#3inourminds.At€16,000andwithout

subscriptionfees,itsvalueiscurrentlyunbeatablebyanyotherscanner,especiallygiven

itsTier1scanninge�ciency.Ifyouareonabudgetandlookingforano-frills

replacementfortraditionalsilicon,theMediti500istheperfectbalanceofcostand

performance.

DentalWingsVirtuoVivo



Ifwecouldgiveoutimaginaryawards,theVirtuoVivowouldgetmyvoteforBest

Newcomer.Thiswasacompletelyredesignedscannerthatlookednothinglikethe

previousiteration,theDWOS.Notgonnalie,Iwaspersonallyverysurprisedathowwell

theVirtuoVivoactuallyperformed.Therewasalsoalivedemonstrationofintraoral

scanning,anditgaveusaverygoodreferenceforitsacquisitioncapabilitiesand

softwareintelligence.

E�ciency

SPEED:ThemaximumtravelspeedwassurprisinglyfastontheVirtuoVivo.It’snot

attheMeditor3Shapelevel,butit’sde�nitelyoneofthefasterandsmoothest

Tier2scannerswetested.

ACQUISITION:Thescannerwasabletocapturemostofwhatitscamerasaw,and

thescanning�eldalsoseemedabitbiggerthanaverage.

CERECDigestReview(2019)-DentalWingsVirtuoCERECDigestReview(2019)-DentalWingsVirtuo……

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCSHE2uaPTA




INTELLIGENCE:Thesoftwarewasableto�xbasicstitchingissues.Thelive

demonstrationalsoshowedhowitwasabletoremovesomesoftware

interferencebyrepeatedlyscanningoverthesamearea.

TotheTopofTierTwo!

It’salwaysadi�cultcalltoreviewabrand-newscanner.Ononehand,theVirtuoVivo

hadverygoodspeed,smoothness,andacquisitioncapabilities.Upon�rstuse,wehada

feelingthatitwouldprobablyberankedrightbehindtheMediti500.ButisitTier-1

material?Thelivedemonstrationdidnothingtoconvinceusonewayortheother,

becauseitshowedgoodacquisition,buttheoperatorwasmovingatsuchaslowpace

thattherewasnowaytogaugetheactuale�ciency.Intheend,weaskedourselves:we

wouldbeabletoscanafullarchinoneminute?Andtheanswerwasnotde�nitive.

Wewouldbehappytobeprovenwrong,however.Letusknowinthecommentsbelow.

OurVerdict

WeranktheVirtuoVivofromDentalWingsat#6onourlist.Withitsdesignsoftwareand

millingunit,thisscannerseemedtobeaClassAsystemat�rst.However,sincethe

millingunitisactuallymanufacturedbyAmann-Girbach,it’stechnicallyasimilarsetupto

3Shape,wherepartofthework�owisdependentonathirdparty.At€19,000,it’sa

cheaperalternativeto3Shape,albeitatlowerbutdecentperformance.Ifyouare

alreadyinvestedintheDentalWingsecosystem,theVirtuoVivoisapromisingfront-end

toyourCAD/CAMwork�ow.

iTeroelement5D

TheiTeroelement5Disanincrementalupdatefromthepreviousgeneration,theiTero

element2.Thewandlookedverysimilartotheolddesign,andtheredidn’tseemtobe

muchchangesmadeontheactualscanningcapabilities.Theprimarysellingpointofthe



element5Dwasitsabilitytoperformnear-infraredimaging(NIRI).Unlikethe3Shape

Trios4infraredcapture,whichrequiresyoutoactivateimagecaptureindividually,the

element5DrecordsalltheNIRIdatasothatyoucanviewitatalatertime.Prettyneat!

TheTrios,EmeraldS,andtheiTeroElement5D(above)arethethreeintraoralscannerswithcariesdetection.

Butwhataboutthecorescanningfunction?Here’savideo

E�ciency

SPEED:Theelement5Dusestheessentiallythesamehardwareastheelement2,

sotherewasnoappreciablespeedimprovement.Thescanningspeedisdecent,

CERECDigestReview(2019)-iTeroElement5DCERECDigestReview(2019)-iTeroElement5D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chrn2_zQ22c




butnotquiteatTier1level.

ACQUISITION:Latencyduringthescanwasverynoticeable(seevideo),butseems

toonlybeavisuale�ectwithnoactualnegativeimpactondatacapture.Thelarge

anddeepscanning�eldoftheiTerohavealwaysbeenitsstrength.

INTELLIGENCE:Thesoftwareisabletocorrectminorstitchingproblems,butdoes

notseemtohavetheabilitytoremovesoft-tissueinterference.(seevideo)

ItsRankingExplained

IfyousawtheiTeroscanningvideoabove,youmighthavenoticedthatitsscanning

speedseemedtobeabitslowerthanotherscannersarounditsrank.Inourprolonged

tests,wefoundthattheiTero,althoughnotexactlyaspeeddemon,wasmuchmore

consistentinitsdataacquisitionthanCarestreamandPlanmeca.

OurVerdict

TheiTeroElement5Dis#7onourlistoftoptenscanners.Whileitsde�nitelyclinically

viable,theElement5D’scorescanninge�ciencyisstillnotquiteTier1level.

Unfortunately,itsquotedpriceofover€36,000putsitinthesamepricerangeasthe

3ShapeTrios4andtheOmnicam,whicharebothhigherclassandhighertier.Evenif

we’recomparingwithinthesameclass,theMediti500representsanothertough

competitionfortheiTero.

TheiTerodoes,however,haveonesavinggrace,andthatisitsassociationwith

Invisalign.Duetothemarketinge�ortsoffromAlignTechnology,thisscannerhasdone

betterinsalesthanitsperformancewouldsuggest.

CarestreamCS3700



TheCS3700isyetanotherevolutionaryupdatetotheCS3600.Unlikethebigjumpin

hardwarebetweentheCS3500andtheCS3600,thisnewscannerisessentiallythe

samescannerwithadi�erentdesignforthehandles.

E�ciency

SPEED:Itwasverydi�culttotellthedi�erencebetweenthe3700andthe3600,

evenwithaside-by-sidecomparison.Thespeedwasstilldecent,mindyou,butit

wasde�nitelyoneoftheslowerscannersonourTopTenlist.

ACQUISITION:Forthemostpart,datacapturewasverygoodonthe3Dprinted

modeltheyprovided.Thescannerproducedonlyafewholesonasinglepass,

andmostofthemwereembrasuressothatwasunderstandable.

INTELLIGENCE:Thesoftwareisabletocorrectminorstitchingproblems,butdoes

notseemtohavetheabilitytoremovesoft-tissueinterference.

AboutthatPorscheDesign

OneofthesellingpointsabouttheCS3700isthefactthatitsnewdesignwasbythe

samemindswhodesignsforPorsche,thesportscarmanufacturer.But…why?Consider

thefactthatothercompaniesareaddingclinically-relevantfunctionssuchascaries

detection,�uorescence,andmotioncaptureofocclusion,orjuststraightuprebuildinga

betterscannerfromscratch.I’mnotsayingthatPorscheengineershavenochanceof

CERECDigestReview(2019)-CarestreamCS3700CERECDigestReview(2019)-CarestreamCS3700

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCxwuE4NV4o




comingupwithabetterhandledesignforanintraoralscanner.Infact,wequitelikedit,

butisitreallythecriticaldetailthat’sholdingthescannerback?

OurVerdict

WegivethenewscannerfromCarestreamthe#8spot.ItmightseemliketheCS3700is

astepdownfromtheCS3600,whichwasrankedat#3inour2017review,butit’sall

relative;sincemostothermanufacturerscameoutwithmoretangibleimprovementsto

theirscanner,theCS3700feltaboutexactlythesame.However,thisdeviceisscheduled

forreleaselaterthisyear,soit’spossiblethattheymakelast-minutechangesforthe

better.

PlanmecaEmeraldS

Afewyearsago,Igottoscan,design,andfabricateanonlayforthe�rsttimeonaclass

Asystem.Itwasn’ttheCERECOmnicam,butratherthePlanscan,thelast-genscanner

fromPlanmeca.However,thenostalgiadidnothingtodampenmydisappointment

whenIsawtheEmeraldS.Inkeepingwiththetrendsetby3Shape,iTero,and

Carestream,theEmeraldSisalsoanevolutionaryupdatetothepreviousscanner,the

PlanmecaEmerald.Inotherwords,don’texpecttoseesigni�cantchangestothecore

scanningfunctionality.

CERECDigestReview(2019)-PlanmecaEmeraldSCERECDigestReview(2019)-PlanmecaEmeraldS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mcjn0Rw9yhs




E�ciency

SPEED:TheEmeraldSisafastscanneronthemodel,andthespeedisalsovery

respectableinthemouth.Weareabletovouchforitsintraoralspeedbecause

we’veusedthepreviousgeneration,theEmerald,onnumerousrealpatients.

ACQUISITION:Forthemostpart,theEmeraldhasverygooddatacapture,both

onmodelandenamel.

INTELLIGENCE:Theabilityofthesoftwareto�xstitchingissueswasquitepoor.

Thescanneralsohadabitofdi�cultyresumingascanoncethe�owwasbroken.

TheAchillesHeel

Forthegamersoutthere,theEmeraldSisthebuildwheretheplayerinvestedequally

oneveryotherstatexceptforintelligence.Sowhileyouhavedecenthardware,robust

designfunctions,andaverycomprehensivework�ow,somehowthescanningsoftware

givesyouthemosttrouble.Theinabilityto�xsomebasicstitchingerrorswouldn’thave

beensuchabigproblemifthescanningdeformationswererare,buttheseproblems

occurquitefrequentlyduringourclinicaltestswiththeEmerald(notthe“S”).

Wewantedtoseeifthingshaveimprovedwiththenewscanner,butwereinsteadtold

thatthescanningissueswereduetoimproperscanningtechnique.Perhaps.Thought

we’dliketonotethattherewereotherscannersthatperformedjust�neusingthe

identicalscanningtechqniue.

OurVerdict

WegivethePlanmecaEmeraldSthe#9spotonourTopTenlist.Thescanningspeedis

almostthesameastheiTero,butduetoitssoftwareissues,youaresometimesforced

tostop,delete,andre-scancertainportions.Despiteourcomplaints,however,theseare

notfrequentissues,andwefeelthattheEmeraldSisaaboutthesamee�ciencyasthe

CarestreamCS3700.Ontheplusside,it’salsoadecentandless-expensivealternativeto

theotherClassAsystemsinourlist,theCERECPrimescanandtheOmnicam.



GCAadvaIOS200

Outofthetop10scannersthatwe’vereviewed,thenewAadvaIOS200fromGChadthe

mostinterestingdesign.Thetipofthescanheadsportsasimplemirrorthat’snot

completelyenclosed,givingthewholethingaveryminimalistlook.Sohowwelldoesthe

scannerperform?Here’soneofourtestsduringIDS2019.

E�ciency

SPEED:TheAadvaIOS200canreachaboutthesamespeedastheCarestreamCS

3700beforebreakingthescan�ow.

ACQUISITION:Thedatacapturewasfairlydecentonthestonemodel,butduring

aself-scandemonstrationthenumberofholesineachpassincreased

signi�cantly.

CERECDigestReview(2019)-GCAadvaIOS200CERECDigestReview(2019)-GCAadvaIOS200

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyD3XNBb3a8




INTELLIGENCE:Theniceladyattheboothmentionedsoftwarearti�cial

intelligence,butitlookedlikebasicclean-upcapabilitiesofnoisydata.

HowdoestheAadvaIOS200comparewiththelastgenerationfromGC?

TheAadvaIOS200isde�nitelyamuchmoree�cientscanneroverall.It’sfasterandhas

betterdatacapture.Thesoftwaredoesn’tseemtohaveimprovedtoomuch,butit’s

sensibleformanufacturerstousethesamesoftwarefordi�erenthardware.Wealso

gavethelast-genGCscanner,theAadvaIOS,anothertrythisyear,anditdidn’treally

improveverymuch,atleastnotenoughtoenterTier2.

OurVerdict

TheGCAadvaIOS200isasolid#10onourtop-tenlist.Icanappreciatethenewdesign,

butatthemomentthisdevicedoesnotseemtohavetoomuchadvantageoverother

competitors.AsaClassCscanner,itcanonlyperformthemostbasicfunctionsofan

intraoralscanner:scanandexporttoathirdparty.Yes,ataround16,000Euros,the

AadvaIOS200isoneofthelessexpensivescanners.Unfortunately,theMediti500is

alsoaround16,000Euros,andisasigni�cantlybetterscannerofthesameclass.ButI

wouldn’tcountGCoutyet,seeingashowtheywerewillingtotakeariskandinvestina

totallynewscanner.Let’sseewhattheyhavetoo�erin2021.

LastThreeQuestions

Whywasthisreviewarticlepublishedsolate?

IremembersittinginahotelinMaastrichtafewdaysafterIDSinMarch,proofreading

the�naldraftofthisarticle.Morethan5000wordsofwhatourteamsetouttodo,and

yetitdidn’tfeelright.AsIwasdoingadditionalresearchtosupportmyclaimsinthe

article,IconstantlyquestionedifIwasbiasedinfavorofPrimescan.Maybebecauseit’s

newandexciting?MaybebecauseI’mmuchmorefamiliarwithCERECecosystem?My

draftwasableconvinceeveryoneontheteamexceptformyself.

Intheend,wedecidedthatifweweregoingmakeaclaim,we’dbetterbeabletoprove

it.SowewaiteduntilafterreceivingourPrimescan,andItestedthecrapoutofitover

thenextweek.TheresultswereevenbetterthanIexpected,butbythattimeafew

otherwebsiteshadcopiedourformatfrom2017andreleasedtheirreview.Wedidn’t



agreewiththeir�ndings,becauseallofthemseemedhavemadetheexactsame

mistakewedid,butalasitseemedthatthewindowofopportunityhadclosed.

InthemonthfollowingIDSinMarch,Ihadreceivedalargenumberofrequestsonline

forthe2019versionofourarticle.AsIlecturedinmanydi�erentcountries,alotofthe

audiencememberhadaskedmeaboutourthoughtsondi�erentintraoralscanners.

Manyofthemareinthemarketbutdon’thaveanyheadwayonhowtochoose.Youcan

probablyguesstherest.

Whichistherightscannerforme?

Isn’tthistheultimatequestion?Rightnow,thechoicesarebecomingdiverseandthere

isascannerforeveryneed.

Justtolistafew:Ifyouarelookingforaninexpensivescannerthatiseasyande�cient,

thereistheMediti500.Butifyoualsowanttodoyourowndesignonalotofdi�erent

indications,thenthe3ShapeTRIOSseriesareagoodchoice.Fortheultimatesystemfor

accuratescanningandchairsiderestoration,thePrimescancurrentlyhasno

competition,butthere’sliterallyahighpricetopay.

Butwhetheritisprice,accuracy,orhowmanyindicationsyoucanuseitfor,theone

thingthatmostpeopleoverlookistheavailabilityoftrainingandeducation.Maybeyou

don’tneedtoomuchtrainingforClassCscanners,butifyouareconsideringClassBand

Asystems,agoodcommunitythatcansupportyouisparamount.

AtCERECAsiawedoalotoftechnicalandclinicaltraining,butourmostpopularcourses

areactuallytheMarketingandManagementlecturesforCEREC.Peopleareinterestedto

jointheworldofdigitalimpression,butareunsureofwhattodoandhowtostart.As

dentists,mostofusdon’thavethetimeto�gurestu�out,andhavingaccesstogood

educationcanhelpyouimmenselyonridingthatlearningcurve.

Whatabout(INSERTNAME)Scanner?

AsI’vementionedattheverybeginning,ourlastreviewarticlein2017hasgainedover

200,000viewssofar.Thismeans200,000goodexposuresforthetopscanners,butalso

200,000badexposuresforthebottomscanners.



WhenmycolleagueandIplannedthisprojectlasttime,wesimplywantedtoseehow

theOmnicamthatweuseeverydayperformedrelativetootherscanners.Itwasnotour

intentiontodamagethereputationofanyone,butrankingsdictatewinnersandlosers,

andforthelatterwefranklydidn’tworkhardenoughtoeasethepain.

Thefactis,intraoralscanningisnotjustonekindoftechnology,butconsistsofseveral

di�erentapproachestoreachingthesamegoal.Throughyearsofcompetition,some

newermethodshavebeguntomaturewhileothershavebeenmadeobsolete.Right

nowconfocaltechnologiesreignssupreme,butwhoknowswhatthefuturewillbring.

Asbothanengineerandadentist,Icanappreciatethemanufacturerspouringtimeand

resourcesforthebettermentofpatients.Thisiswhyforthisyear,eventhoughwe’ve

testedalmosteverysingleintraoralscanneratIDS,we’vedecidedtolistonlythetopten.

Forthescannersthatdidnotmakeitintoourreview,wesincerelywishthemthebestof

luckandlookforwardtowhattheybringtothetablenexttimearound.

Conclusion

Thankyoufortakingthetimetoreadourreviewandanalysis.We’vetriedtobeasfair

aswecould,butI’msurewe’vemademistakessomewhere.Letusknowwhatyouthink

inthecommentsbelow,orcontactmesomeotherway,andIwillmakesuretorespond

toeachofyourconcerns.



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HsuanHsuanisalectureratCERECAsiaTrainingFacility.HeisfromVancouver,Canada,andisabigfanofprosthodonticsandprofanity.

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AUniqueApproachtoIntraoralScanningJune30,2017In"Editorial"

NewKidontheBlock:PrimescanandWhatItMeansforCurrentandPotentialUsersFebruary6,2019In"Editorial"

ReviewofIntraoralScannersatIDS2017April14,2017In"Investigation"

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Our Top Ten Intraoral Scanners of 2019 - Medit i500 · 13. iTero element 5D 14. ... impression data gathered by the CEREC Asia team, we rated each scanner using four criteria: speed

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