Today, intraoral scanners(IOS) are making their way into more and more dental practices for obvious reasons such as speed, accuracy, and patient comfort over the traditional impression-taking process, and it serves as a starting point to digital dentistry. "Will I see a return on my investment after buying an intraoral scanner?" This is one of the most common questions that comes to dentists' minds before they make the transition to digital dentistry. Return on Investment is achieved through many aspects, including time savings by using a scanner, patient satisfaction, the elimination of impression materials, and the use of digital impressions in many workflows. It will also depend in large part on how your dental practice is currently set up. Factors such as which services make up the largest part of your business, what you see as growth areas, and how many impression retakes and device remakes you do on average will all impact whether the intraoral 3D scanner is worth the financial cost. In this blog, we will explore the return on investment of intraoral scanners and how it can be calculated from the following aspects.
Savings in impression materials
The cost of an analog impression is proportional to the number of impressions taken. The more analog impressions you take, the higher the cost. With digital impressions, you can take as many impressions as you want, and you are also able to see more patients because of the less chair time, which ultimately increases the profitability of your practice.
One-time payment
Some intraoral scanners on the market have subscription-based models, you can seek out scanners that offer the same efficient and easy-to-use workflow while cost-effective (such as Launca DL-206). You only pay once and there is no ongoing cost. Updates to their software system are also free and automatic.
Better patient education
You can build trust with your patients through the high-resolution, 3D digital models of their teeth condition on the scanner software, it promotes better understanding of your diagnosis and of the treatment plan you propose to patients, thus increasing treatment acceptance.
Preference for digital practices
Digital workflow provides a more comfortable and efficient patient experience, leading to higher patient satisfaction and loyalty. And there is a good chance that they will refer other family members and friends to your practice. As patients become more aware of digital technology in dentistry, they will actively seek out dental practices who offer digital options.
Fewer remakes and less turnaround time
Accurate impressions generate more predictable results. Digital impressions eliminate the variables that may occur in traditional impressions like bubbles, distortions, saliva contamination, shipping temperature, etc. Dentists can quickly scan the patient and spend less chair time making adjustments, even if the impression retake are needed, they are able to immediately rescan during the same visit. Not only does it reduce the remakes but also the shipping cost and turnaround time compared to analog workflow.
A wide range of applications
An intraoral scanner must support different clinical applications such as implants, orthodontic, restorative or sleep dentistry, in order to generate a decent return on investment. With advanced scanning features along with validated clinical workflows, IOS is truly an awesome tool not only for dentists but also for patients.
Improved team efficiency
Intraoral scanners are intuitive, easy to use, and also easy to maintain on a daily basis, this means digital impression taking is enjoyable and delegated within your team. Share, discuss and approve scans online anytime, anywhere, which facilitates better communication and faster decision-making between practices and labs.
Investing in a new digital device in your practice requires not only an initial financial cost but an open mindset and a vision for the future because it’s the return on investment that counts in the long run.
Messy impressions are becoming a thing of the past. It's time to visualize and communicate! Your path to digital transition is now easier with the award-winning Launca intraoral scanner. Enjoy better dental care and practice growth in one scan.
Post time: Aug-18-2022
