Intraoral Scanners: How to Choose.

An intraoral scanner records a 3D surface of the teeth for crowns, bridges, aligners, dentures, and implant planning. It is not an intraoral camera, and it is not the phosphor-plate reader some older pages call a scanner. Those plate readers digitize a radiograph. This guide is about optical impressions.

How to choose an intraoral scanner

• Where the file has to go. An open scanner exports STL or PLY to the lab you already use. iTero is built around Align and Invisalign. Primescan is built around CEREC and a Sirona mill. Buy the path your cases actually travel.
• Cart, laptop, or wireless wand. A cart is stable and takes floor space. A laptop pod moves between rooms. A wireless wand removes the cable and adds a battery. Try a full-arch scan in the smallest operatory you have.
• Subscription. Some brands charge yearly software, cloud storage, or caries-detection features. Ask for the five-year cost, not the wand price on the proposal’s first page.
• What you scan. Full arches, edentulous ridges, implant scan bodies, and deep preps are different tests. A scanner that flies through a single crown prep can still struggle on a full denture impression.
• Who scans. If assistants scan, the wand weight, the heater, and the on-screen guidance matter more than a spec-sheet accuracy number you cannot verify in the office.

How the major scanners differ

Brand	Known for	Best fit	Watch for
3Shape TRIOS	Open export and a broad lab network	Offices that send STL files to more than one lab	Software tiers and apps are part of the ongoing cost
Align iTero	Invisalign and the Align workflow	Practices that submit a lot of Invisalign	Weaker reason to buy if you rarely do Align cases
Dentsply Sirona Primescan	CEREC chairside and Connect lab cases	Offices milling same-day restorations on a Sirona mill	You are buying a workflow, not only a wand
Medit	Open files at a lower acquisition cost	Offices that want STL output without a premium cart	Confirm the lab will accept the export without a conversion step
Planmeca Emerald	Scanning inside a Planmeca CAD/CAM and imaging setup	Offices already on Planmeca mills or Romexis	Less reason to choose it as a standalone wand

3Shape TRIOS

TRIOS is the scanner offices pick when the lab relationship is “send a file,” not “stay inside one manufacturer.” Models differ by wired versus wireless and by which software apps are included. Caries-detection tools on later TRIOS wands are an add-on decision, not the reason to buy the scanner.

Align iTero

iTero is the practical choice when a large share of scans are Invisalign submissions. The wand, the Invisalign case pipeline, and Align’s ecosystem are the product. If those cases are rare in your office, you are paying for a path you will not walk, and an open scanner is the cleaner buy.

Dentsply Sirona Primescan

Primescan replaced Omnicam as Sirona’s chairside scanner. It makes the most sense next to a CEREC mill, where the same visit can go from scan to design to mill. If a lab makes your crowns, compare Primescan’s lab-connect fee with simply emailing an STL from TRIOS or Medit.

Medit

Medit scanners are the open, lower-cost wands that pushed premium brands to justify their subscriptions. The buying test is mundane: scan a deep margin, export the file, and have your lab open it. If that works, the rest is wand feel and the software renewal.

Planmeca Emerald

Emerald fits when the office already uses Planmeca for imaging or milling and wants the scan in that same environment. As a lone scanner in a practice that uses someone else’s mill and someone else’s lab portal, it has fewer advantages.

Related guides

• CAD/CAM and lab equipment
• Milling machines
• Intraoral cameras, which are not scanners

Scanner questions

Do I need a scanner if my lab still pours models?

Only if you want to stop taking physical impressions. The lab can still print a model from an open scan. If every case is a triple tray and you like it that way, a scanner will sit.

What accuracy number should I trust?

None that you did not produce. Published trueness figures come from the manufacturer’s protocol. Scan a prep with a deep margin in your light, with your assistant, and send it to your lab. That is the accuracy you will live with.