Connecting your scanner.
Most scanner platforms let a practice send cases straight to a laboratory account without exporting anything. Setting that up once removes file handling from every case afterwards.
Why connect rather than export
An exported file has to be saved somewhere, attached to something and sent — and each of those steps is a place where the wrong file, an incomplete file or no file at all gets sent.
A connected account removes all three. The practice selects the laboratory at the end of the scan and the case arrives complete, with the scan, the case details and the prescription entered in the software travelling together.
It also means the case arrives immediately rather than whenever somebody gets round to the export.
iTero
Fairmont is a preferred iTero laboratory, so it can be added to your list of receiving laboratories and cases sent directly from the scanner or MyiTero. It is arranged once and then persists.
Call the laboratory to set it up. You will need your practice's iTero account details to hand, and Align's support can complete the connection at their end if anything is unclear.
3Shape TRIOS
TRIOS uses 3Shape Communicate. The practice adds the laboratory as a connection, and cases are then sent to it directly from the scanner software.
As with iTero, this is a one-off setup. Once connected, sending a case is a selection at the end of the scan rather than a separate task.
Other systems
Medit, Primescan and CEREC, and Carestream all have equivalent case-sharing arrangements, and all export open files where a practice would rather handle them directly.
Where a practice prefers exporting, agree a consistent method — a secure transfer service rather than email attachments, which have size limits and no confirmation of delivery.
Whatever the route, agree it once and use it consistently. Ad hoc file handling is where cases get lost.
Confirm it works before you rely on it
Send a test case, or the first real case, and confirm with the laboratory that it arrived complete and openable before booking a seat appointment against it.
It is a five-minute check that prevents discovering a connection problem on a case with a deadline.
Housekeeping worth doing
Keep the scanner within its calibration interval. Keep tips clean and retire worn ones — a clouded or scratched tip degrades margin capture in a way that presents as poor detail rather than as an obvious fault.
Make sure whoever will actually be scanning has been trained on the case setup as well as the capture. A sizeable proportion of digital case problems originate in how the case was created in the software rather than how it was scanned.
Connection details by platform
Most platforms need the laboratory added once by an identifier — a lab ID, a connection email, or a search term in the manufacturer's directory. Once added, sending a case is a selection at the end of the scan.
For iTero, the laboratory is added through Align support or from within MyiTero. For TRIOS, the connection is made in 3Shape Communicate, usually by sending or accepting an invitation between the practice and laboratory accounts. Medit uses a partnership request through its support portal. Primescan and CEREC connect through DS Core, where laboratories are found by postal code or account ID. Carestream connects through its own dental connect service.
Call the laboratory and we will give you the exact identifier for your platform, or complete the connection from our end where the system allows it. It takes one call and it is done permanently.
Confirm before you rely on it
Send a test case or the first real case and confirm with the laboratory that it arrived complete and openable, before booking a seat appointment against the route.
It is a five-minute check that prevents discovering a connection problem on a case with a deadline.
Training the whole team
In most practices more than one person will eventually scan, and case setup is as important as capture technique. Selecting the wrong restoration type, the wrong tooth number or the wrong laboratory at case creation produces a case that is technically perfect and functionally wrong.
Agree a single routine and write it down: who creates the case, what fields are completed, who reviews the scan before sending, and where the written prescription is entered.
A practice where only one person understands the workflow experiences a noticeable drop in case quality whenever that person is away.
Trademarks
iTero is a trademark of Align Technology, Inc. TRIOS and 3Shape Communicate are trademarks of 3Shape A/S. Medit is a trademark of Medit Corp. CEREC and Primescan are trademarks of Dentsply Sirona. Carestream is a trademark of Carestream Dental LLC. Scanner names are used solely to indicate file compatibility.
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Send a case
Digital scans and conventional impressions are both accepted. Cases move by UPS and Purolator, and Fairmont works with practices throughout British Columbia and across Canada.