Going Digital: What to Expect When You Switch to Intraoral Scanning

Practices considering the switch from physical impressions to digital scanning usually ask the same handful of questions. Here's what actually changes.

You skip the shipping step entirely

A physical impression has to be packaged, picked up, and transported before a lab technician ever touches it. A digital scan is on our bench within minutes of being sent. That's the single biggest reason digital cases can qualify for rush turnaround — 24-hour rush is available to metro NYC practices on digital submissions, and 2-day rush is available everywhere else.

Fewer remakes from impression distortion

PVS and alginate impressions can distort in the time between the impression and the pour — from handling, from transit, from delay. A digital scan doesn't have that failure mode. It's not that digital is more "advanced" in the abstract; it's that it removes an entire category of error that physical impressions are structurally exposed to — one of several costs most practices don't fully account for when weighing a scanner against its price tag.

It's not all-or-nothing

You don't need a full-arch digital workflow to benefit. Most single-unit and multi-unit fixed cases are excellent candidates for going digital immediately. Some case types — particularly certain removable and full-arch situations — still benefit from a physical record, and that's fine. It's a case-by-case decision, not a mandate.

What we accept

AIM works with digital impressions from every major intraoral scanner — iTero, 3Shape TRIOS, CEREC, DEXIS, Medit, Carestream, Planmeca, Shining 3D, and more. Accepted file formats are STL, PLY, OBJ, and DCM. Email scans to digital@aimdentallab.com and we confirm receipt within the hour.

If you don't have a scanner yet

This is exactly the gap our scanner placement program exists to close — a scanner placed in your practice with no upfront cost, in exchange for sending your digital cases to AIM. If you're on the fence about the investment, that's worth a conversation before you rule it out.

Questions about whether a specific case type is a good fit for digital submission? Get in touch — we'd rather answer that up front than have a case come back because of a preventable mismatch.