Evaluate a scanner in this order: whether your lab and your existing software can use the files without friction, what the whole cost looks like across the life of the purchase rather than at signing, how the capture goes when your own assistant does it in your own operatory, and what happens to your data if you stop paying. Work those four in that sequence and the shortlist usually collapses on its own.
Notice that none of those four are answered in a demo room. They are answered by your lab, your team, your accountant, and the contract.
What actually matters in a demo?
Do not let the representative do the scanning. Have the person who will use it every day do it, on your patients, under your lighting, with your operatory layout in the way.
Watch for how long a full capture takes with a stopwatch running, and how the software behaves when you go back to recapture a small area, because that is what you will be doing all day. Watch whether your assistant can drive it after one session or whether it quietly becomes your job.
Then hand over the case type that worries you most and ask to see the result on screen at full magnification. You are deciding for yourself whether that capture is something you would be willing to send out.
How much does the file format really matter?
It matters most if you send to more than one lab, if you might produce restorations in-house later, or if you want to change systems in a few years without stranding your case history.
Ask these in writing, from the manufacturer rather than the representative:
- Can I export unrestricted, widely readable files at no extra charge and on any subscription tier?
- Which labs currently receive from this system without a conversion step or a portal fee?
- If I stop subscribing, do I keep access to cases I already captured?
- Does the planning software I already use open these exports directly?
Per-case and portal charges have a way of appearing after the purchase order clears.
What does it cost over the life of the purchase?
Build that number yourself before you negotiate, so you have somewhere to put each answer as it arrives.
Include the hardware and the financing cost, the recurring software charge at the tier you will actually need, warranty and expected repair, sleeves and tips and calibration, the training hours valued at what that time is worth to you, and anything the lab charges on their side to receive the file.
Then divide by the number of scans you honestly expect in the early months, not the number you expect once everyone is fluent. Adoption ramps, and a model built on the fluent number flatters the purchase.
What should you settle clinically before you buy?
Decide which cases you intend to scan and which you will continue to handle conventionally, and write that down before the equipment arrives. A split protocol is perfectly reasonable. A protocol that shifts with your mood is not.
Work through the case types at the edges of your scope one at a time, and take each one to your lab as a specific question: what do you want to receive for this, and what do you send back most often? Labs see the output of many practices. They will answer a specific question honestly if you ask one.
What is the mistake to avoid?
Signing at a trade show, on a show-only discount, without the person who will operate it standing next to you. The discount is real. So is the multi-year subscription printed underneath it.
FAQ
Does scanning replace conventional impressions entirely?
That is a decision, not a fact you can look up. Work through your own case mix, ask your lab what they prefer to receive for each type, and write a protocol that says which cases go which way. Then revisit it after you have some of your own results to look at.
How long does it take a team to get comfortable with a scanner?
Longer than the wand technique suggests. Handling and capture come quickly. Strategy, tissue management, and recovering from a poor capture take longer. Budget for reduced efficiency during the ramp, schedule accordingly, and do not start with your most demanding cases.
Should I wait for the next generation of hardware?
There is always a next generation. The better question is whether the current one solves a problem you have this year. If it does and the cost model works, waiting mostly delays the learning curve you would otherwise already be through.