Does a digital impression replace dental X-rays?

No. A digital impression captures the surface anatomy of the teeth, gums, and bite, while dental X-rays and cone beam imaging show the internal structures such as bone, roots, and nerves. At Rose Dental, digital impressions and digital X-ray or cone beam imaging work together as complementary tools rather than as substitutes for one another.

Is a digital impression covered by insurance like a traditional impression?

Most dental insurance plans treat a digital impression the same way they treat a traditional impression for coverage purposes, since it serves the same diagnostic and restorative function. Coverage details still vary by plan and by the treatment the impression supports, so patients should confirm their specific benefits with their insurance provider or the front office team before their appointment.

Is the intraoral scanner safe, and does it emit radiation?

The Planmeca Emerald S intraoral scanner uses light and optical imaging to capture a digital model of the teeth and gums, not radiation. It is considered safe for patients of all ages, including those who are pregnant or who need to avoid additional radiation exposure.

How long does a digital impression appointment take?

A complete digital scan of both the upper and lower arches typically takes about two to three minutes with the Planmeca Emerald S. The full appointment may take a bit longer depending on what the impression is being used for, such as planning a crown, bridge, night guard, retainer, or clear aligner treatment.

Digital Impressions in Tucker, GA

Intraoral Dental Scanner and Digital Dentistry Technology in Modern Dental Office

If you have ever had a dental impression taken the traditional way, with a tray of thick, goopy putty pressed into your mouth while you tried not to gag, you already understand why so many patients dread that part of a dental visit. The material is uncomfortable, the wait feels endless, and the results depend heavily on conditions that can go wrong: distortion, air bubbles, shrinkage, or a patient who simply cannot hold still long enough. For a practice built around precision and patient-centered care, that process was never acceptable as a standard.

Rose Dental has moved well beyond traditional impressions. As part of a deeply holistic dentistry philosophy, Dr. Zina Aaron and her team have invested in the Planmeca Emerald S, currently the fastest intraoral scanner available, to replace outdated impression methods with a digital process that is more comfortable, more accurate, and better suited to the quality of care Tucker patients deserve. The difference is meaningful, and it changes the entire experience of restorative and diagnostic dentistry from the first appointment forward.

What Is a Digital Impression? A digital impression is a computer-generated, three-dimensional scan of the teeth, gums, and bite that takes the place of the traditional putty tray. At our Tucker, GA dental office, digital dental impressions are captured chairside with the Planmeca Emerald S in just a few minutes, giving Dr. Aaron an accurate, real-time model to plan treatment around.

The Planmeca Emerald S Intraoral Scanner

The Planmeca Emerald S is a handheld, wand-like device that captures full-color, three-dimensional digital scans of your teeth, gums, and bite in real time. A complete scan of both arches typically takes two to three minutes. During that time, the scanner generates a detailed, high-resolution digital model of your oral structures that is immediately visible on-screen, so you and Dr. Aaron can review the same image together the moment the scan is complete.

A 2026 systematic review published in Frontiers in Oral Health found that the mean patient comfort score for digital impressions was 9.02 out of 10, compared to just 6.5 for conventional impression techniques, a statistically significant difference that reflects a clear and consistent preference for digital scanning among patients. That finding aligns directly with what we see in practice: patients who once avoided or postponed restorative treatment because of the discomfort of traditional impressions find the digital process far more manageable, and often remark that it was nothing like they expected. A separate systematic review on PubMed examined intraoral scanner accuracy across multiple studies and found it can fall within a clinically acceptable range for many restorative applications.

9.02/10

Average patient comfort score for digital impressions

6.5/10

Average patient comfort score for traditional impressions

Ready for a More Comfortable Impression Experience?

Schedule your visit with Dr. Zina Aaron and experience digital impressions with the Planmeca Emerald S at Rose Dental in Tucker, GA.

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Greater Accuracy, Better Outcomes

Traditional impression materials can distort as they set, shrink during transport, or develop microscopic air bubbles that compromise the precision of the final mold. Any of those variables translates into a restoration that fits less accurately, requires more adjustments, and may be more likely to fail over time. Digital impressions eliminate all of those risks. The Planmeca Emerald S captures measurements down to the micron level, producing a digital file that goes directly to the dental laboratory with no physical handling, no transportation delays, and no degradation in accuracy between capture and fabrication.

The result is restorations, including crowns, bridges, night guards, retainers, partials, and oral appliances, that fit better from the start. Fewer adjustment appointments, shorter overall treatment timelines, and a higher-quality end result are direct consequences of the precision that digital scanning makes possible.

Integration with Rose Dental’s Full Technology Suite

One of the most significant advantages of the Planmeca Emerald S at Rose Dental is how seamlessly it integrates with the rest of the practice’s imaging technology. The Emerald S produces 3D full-color scans that can be directly merged with the 3D cone beam CT data captured by the Planmeca Viso G7. The combined dataset creates a unified diagnostic picture that includes not just the surface anatomy of your teeth and gums, but also the underlying bone structure, root position, nerve location, and airway anatomy that only CBCT imaging can reveal.

For patients preparing for zirconia dental implants, this integration is particularly valuable. Surgical placement planning benefits enormously from having both the surface scan and the three-dimensional bone map in a single, aligned digital model. It reduces guesswork, enables more conservative surgical approaches, and supports the level of precision that biocompatible implant dentistry demands. The same integration supports clear aligner treatment in Tucker, where accurate digital records of your bite and tooth position are essential to planning every stage of tooth movement.

Digital Impressions as a Diagnostic Tool

Beyond their role in fabricating restorations, digital scans from the Planmeca Emerald S also serve as a powerful diagnostic resource during routine care. The level of detail captured by the scanner allows Dr. Aaron to identify cracked teeth, plaque deposits, cavities developing adjacent to existing restorations, and areas of excessive wear that might not be visible during a standard clinical examination. Combined with the practice’s digital X-ray and cone beam imaging capabilities, this creates a multi-layered diagnostic toolkit that catches problems early, when intervention is least invasive and most effective.

Digital records also archive over time. Each scan serves as a precise baseline for future comparisons, making it straightforward to track changes in tooth structure, gum levels, or bite alignment across multiple visits. That kind of longitudinal data is invaluable for a practice focused on long-term oral health, not just treating the problem in front of it.

Digital Impressions Compared to Traditional Impressions

The table below highlights the practical differences patients notice most between the two methods.

Category	Digital Impressions	Traditional Impressions
Comfort	No tray or putty, minimal gag reflex	Thick putty tray held in place for several minutes
Speed	About two to three minutes per arch	Several minutes of set time per tray, sometimes repeated
Accuracy	Micron-level digital capture with no shrinkage or distortion	Subject to shrinkage, distortion, and air bubbles during setting and transport

Both approaches are used in general and restorative dentistry, though a growing number of practices, including ours, have moved to digital capture for the reasons above.

Used For

Digital dental impressions from the Planmeca Emerald S support planning and fabrication for a range of restorative and preventive treatments, including

Crowns

Bridges

Night guards

Retainers

Clear aligners

Each of these appliances depends on an accurate starting model, which is exactly what a digital scan is built to provide.

Frequently Asked Questions About Digital Impressions in Tucker, GA

Schedule Your Appointment with Rose Dental

Dr. Zina Aaron earned her Doctorate of Dental Medicine from the Medical College of Georgia and holds memberships in the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology, the International Academy of Biological Dentistry & Medicine, and the American Academy for Oral Systemic Health. Her investment in tools like the Planmeca Emerald S reflects the same standard that guides every aspect of her practice: choose the technology and materials that serve the patient’s health most effectively, not the ones that are simply most convenient.

If you are a Tucker patient looking for a dental practice where the technology matches the quality of care, we invite you to reach out. Use our contact form to schedule your appointment and experience firsthand what precision-driven, biocompatible dentistry looks like.

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