For those who dislike impressions

Many people say the most unpleasant experience at the dentist is “having impressions taken.”

Indeed,

• It gets your mouth dirty
• It ruins your makeup
• It can cause cracked corners of the mouth
• It tires your jaw
• It triggers the gag reflex, making you feel like you’re going to vomit

For many patients, it’s a highly stressful procedure.

When a cavity exceeds a certain size or when creating new dentures, impressions are always necessary.

However, traditional methods were based on the premise of “patient burden,” which was a major reason many avoided treatment.

The Difference Between Insurance-Covered and Out-of-Pocket Treatments

While impressions are required even for insurance-covered treatments, out-of-pocket treatments can actually be more painful.

The reason is that private treatment prioritizes quality above all else, allowing absolutely no compromise on the precision of the impression.

Dental technicians creating ceramics or dentures rigorously check the accuracy of the dental impression.

If it isn’t taken accurately, it will be repeated multiple times.

The difficulty increases significantly with retreatment, requiring an accurate impression all the way to the subgingival area (deep within the gums, inside the periodontal pocket).

Naturally, touching inside the gums causes pain, sometimes requiring anesthesia, which is a significant burden for patients.

I personally experienced this during my mother-in-law’s treatment, where repeated impressions caused such severe discomfort that our relationship became awkward for a while.

That’s how harsh traditional impressions were for patients.

The Future Transformed by Intraoral Scanners

The solution to this problem is the intraoral scanner.

By scanning the inside of the mouth with a specialized small camera, there is no longer a need for impression material (a clay-like substance) as in the past.

The benefits are as follows:

• Significantly reduces the gag reflex
• Does not tire the jaw
• Keeps the mouth area clean
• Digital data can be confirmed on the spot
• High-precision dental impression data can be obtained in a short time

Not only does this overwhelmingly improve comfort for the patient, but it also maintains the quality of treatment.

Balancing Quality and Comfort

Traditional dental treatment often assumed that “pursuing quality = increased patient discomfort.”

However, advances in digital technology now make it possible to balance quality and comfort.

By introducing the intraoral scanner, our clinic provides high-precision treatment without causing patients unnecessary stress.

For those thinking, “I never want to endure the discomfort of impressions again,” this is a method we highly recommend experiencing.

Summary

• Taking dental impressions is one of the most unpleasant experiences for patients
• Non-insurance treatments, which require higher precision, can sometimes increase discomfort
• Intraoral scanners significantly reduce gag reflex and discomfort
• A new option that combines high precision with comfortable treatment

If you feel “taking impressions is painful” or “I’m afraid of the dentist because of my gag reflex,” please consult us.