4 intraoral scanners on one stage

Left to right:
Patterson/Sirona/CEREC AC, 3M LAVA COS, Cadent iTero, Schein E4D

As far as I know, this is the first time all 4 current scan units have been presented together. My course at the Ohio State Dental Meeeting had representatives from each company show how each unit scans and in 2 cases, how to do a restoration design. Despite the fact this is a very competitive marketplace, we were able to make this work as a fantastic educational event. It was NOT a competition. The attendees went off after the class to the respective booths to gain further information. I have to thank the local reps as well as the corporate officials of the various companies who helped me put this together. I intend to put this on again several times in the future.

Yankee Day One- CEREC AC

Had a full demo of the new CEREC AC with the CEREC Bluecam . I was able to scan a full arch in about 3 minutes the first time through- Probably could get it down to 2 minutes and a lot less if it were just a quadrant. A few notable features. It only has to be positioned from the occlusal unless there is a veneer. You move it across the teeth in steps, however instead of hitting a foot pedal or clicking anything, it does it automatically and you move it to the next spot. We were able to start a scan from upper right (#2) through #8, then stop and start at the other end of the arch, #15 and work around from the other side. As soon as we hit #8 the whole arch was "stitched together".
BIG NEWS. The computer keeps track of each click. You can remove any section ( click area) and redo it at any time. This is HUGE if you had done a scan, look a the prep and decide it needs any modification. Reprep, delete the click area, rescan just that area ( the prep for example) and you are back in business.
Sirona also has many purchase options- some based on a "pay per case" basis. You can get into the acquisition unit for export to an "IN-Lab Lab" for under $25,000, with the small milling unit for about $60,000 all the way up to an outright purchase with the XL milling center for about $120,000. Info is at http://www.cereconline.com