For decades, getting a dental impression meant biting into a tray filled with cold, messy, “goopy” putty. For many patients in Lakewood and Tacoma, this was the most uncomfortable part of a dental visit, often triggering a strong gag reflex. At the office of Dr. Kevin Kim, DDS, we have replaced that outdated method with Intraoral Digital Scanning. This advanced technology uses a small, handheld wand to capture thousands of high-resolution 3D images of your teeth and gums in seconds, creating a perfect digital map of your mouth without the mess.

How Digital Scanning Works

An intraoral scanner is essentially a high-speed 3D camera. As Dr. Kim or his specialized team at Dental Health Associates moves the wand around your mouth, it projects a light source (either laser or structured light) onto the surfaces of your teeth and soft tissues. The software then “stitches” these images together in real-time, building a highly accurate 3D model that you can view immediately on a chairside monitor.

The Digital Advantage for Your Smile

As a specialized Dental Implant Periodontist, Dr. Kim utilizes intraoral scanning to ensure every aspect of your treatment is precise:

• Unmatched Accuracy: Digital scans eliminate the risk of the “distortions” or “air bubbles” common in traditional putty molds, leading to better-fitting crowns, bridges, and implants.
• Enhanced Comfort: The slim wand is far less invasive than large impression trays, making it the ideal choice for patients with sensitive gag reflexes or dental anxiety.
• Same-Day Convenience: Because the files are digital, they can be sent instantly to our in-house CEREC® milling machine or a dental lab, often allowing for same-day crowns and faster turnaround for implants.
• Patient Education: You can see exactly what Dr. Kim sees. We use these 3D models to show you areas of concern and explain your treatment plan with total transparency.

The Foundation of Guided Surgery

Intraoral scanning is a critical “half” of the digital planning process. By merging your surface scan with the bone data from a CBCT 3D Scan, Dr. Kim can create a complete digital replica of your head and jaw. This allows for Computer-Guided Surgery, where we plan the exact exit point of your new tooth before the implant is even placed. For our neighbors near JBLM and University Place, this level of technology ensures a “safety-first” experience and a more natural-looking result.

We believe that modern dentistry should be as comfortable as it is precise. To learn more about how digital impressions are revolutionizing patient care, you can explore resources from the American Academy of Periodontology or the 3Shape Digital Dentistry blog. Dr. Kevin Kim, DDS is proud to bring this “goop-free” technology to the South Sound to make your journey to a healthy smile easier than ever.