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No trays, no putty, no gagging. A few minutes with a handheld wand and your teeth are on screen in full 3D — ready for Invisalign, a crown or a night guard.
For decades, getting a model of your teeth meant a tray of impression material held in your mouth for several uncomfortable minutes — and occasionally doing it all again because the mould moved.
The iTero scanner replaces that entirely. A small wand is passed slowly over your teeth, taking thousands of images per second and building a precise 3D model on the screen as it goes. Nothing is left setting in your mouth, and you can watch your own teeth appear in real time.
The iTero is an intraoral scanner — a handheld optical camera that captures the shape of your teeth and gums in three dimensions and assembles them into a digital model accurate to a fraction of a millimetre.
That digital model does everything a plaster one used to do, and rather more: it can be rotated, measured, compared with an earlier scan and sent to a lab electronically within minutes.
Traditional impressions were uncomfortable, difficult for anyone with a sensitive gag reflex, and could distort while setting or on the way to the lab — which meant a remake and another visit. A digital scan cannot slump, cannot be poured incorrectly and cannot be lost in transit. If a section needs more detail, we simply rescan that area in seconds rather than starting the whole impression again.
You sit back as you would for any examination. We pass the wand slowly over the outer, inner and biting surfaces of your upper teeth, then the lower, then ask you to bite together for a moment so the scanner can record how your teeth meet. There is no pressure, no taste and no need to keep still for long stretches — if you need a break we simply pause and pick up where we left off. Most full scans are finished in under five minutes.
The iTero is used across a wide range of treatments at Renova Dental, not just orthodontics.
Yes. The iTero uses optical scanning to map the surface of your teeth — there is no ionising radiation involved, so it can be repeated as often as treatment requires. Nothing enters your mouth except the scanner wand, which is fitted with a sterilised tip for each patient.
Ready to see what we see? Call 1-905-591-9569 or book online and we’ll walk you through your own images at your next visit. Renova Dental is at 6284 Main St in Stouffville, and we accept the Canadian Dental Care Plan.
No. The wand never presses on your teeth or gums — it simply photographs them. There is no material, no taste and nothing to hold in your mouth.
Usually under five minutes for a full upper and lower scan, including the bite. A single tooth for a crown takes only a minute or two.
Digital scanning is usually far easier than an impression tray for exactly this reason. We can also pause at any point, and sedation is available for patients who need it.
No. It is an optical scanner that uses light rather than X-rays, so there is no radiation exposure and no limit on how often it can be used.
Yes. The Invisalign Outcome Simulator uses your scan to show a side-by-side preview of your current smile and a projected result, on screen during your consultation.
No. We also use it for crowns, bridges, implant restorations, night guards, sports guards and dentures, and to track changes in your mouth over time.
Yes. A sterilised scanner tip is used for each patient and the wand is disinfected between appointments, in line with our standard infection-control protocol.
Yes, when clinically indicated. The scan records the shape of what is visible; X-rays show what is happening inside the tooth and in the bone beneath the gum.