The Institute of Digital Dentistry’s Intraoral Scanner Awards 2022

The TRIOS 5 was one of the most exciting releases of 2022. Officially launched by 3Shape in their online event in September 2022, this scanner made a big impact on the market. If their sales volume is anything to go by, TRIOS 5 has proven to be extremely popular. 

The TRIOS 5 is a total upgrade to the TRIOS 4, which should have really been called 3.5, as it was only an incremental improvement over TRIOS 3. The company says that the TRIOS 5 has been in development for four years, and they have made more than 50 improvements to the TRIOS 5 compared to older generations.

TRIOS 5 looks great, is intricately designed and performs very well. 3Shape has also worked hard on developing their CAD/CAM software over the past few years. The best part of the TRIOS 5 is the cost - it’s only $26,000 USD. This is the cheapest price a new TRIOS scanner has ever been launched at.

iDD review of the TRIOS 5 coming soon! Here is a summary of all the info we about this new scanner.

The Medit i600 may not be the cheapest scanner on the market, but it offers a lot more than most, including many other higher-priced scanners. It is simply incredible value. The Medit i600 was released in mid 2022, and is part of Medit’s goal to keep their pricing competitive.

It was designed to replace the Medit i500 in Medit’s portfolio, and offers the same fast scanning speed, comfortable hold and great software that you’ve come to expect from the i700. 

Medit i600 really impressed us. Somehow the company has taken everything good from the i700 and put it into this economical package. Using the i600, you get access to all the same apps, software and most features of the i700. There are some important differences to be aware of (click here to read more) but for the most part we can strongly recommend this scanner for anyone looking to get into digital dentistry on a budget.

Click here to read our comprehensive review on the Medit i600.

For dentists who strive to do same day dentistry (something we highly recommend), you really can't do a lot better than the CEREC Primescan and the Primemill. These two machines are still the gold standard in single-visit dentistry.

The CEREC Primescan is an enjoyable scanner to use, it is fast and accurate, and when coupled with a CEREC milling machine and ceramic furnace, provides the user with one of the best chairside CAD/CAM experiences available on the market.

The entire workflow is just so polished and the software is so good at automatically providing restorative designs that are 90% perfect most of the time. Yes there are the occasional software hiccups, but overall the CEREC system beats out any other third party mill currently in terms of ease of use and clinical efficiency.

Anyone who is thinking about same-day dentistry must consider CEREC. To this day there is not a single combination of scanner + mill + software that provides the same level of simplicity and automation as CEREC for chairside dentistry.

Click here to read our review on the CEREC Primescan + Primemill.

Over the past two years the entire industry has watched in awe as the team behind Medit have released update after update for their software which completely evolved their product offering from just an affordable scanner to one of the best digital dentistry software on the market.

Medit Link now has evolved to include an entire suite of incredibly useful apps and what is basically Meshmixer for Medit.

The best part of all of this is that these software apps are not some cheap knock-offs, they are truly must-have applications in digital dentistry. They are well thought-out, simple to use and make a lot of previously tedious tasks very straight forward.

On top of all of this is that they are completely FREE and open to any user of any scanner. You just need to make a Medit Link account. 

In this sense, Medit has been one of the most innovative companies in the digital dentistry space by pushing the envelope of what should be included in scanner software.

Over the past year we have not seen a lot of new scanners released on the market. It was mostly new wireless models or upgrades to existing products.

TRIOS 5 changed all of that in late 2022. And what a launch. This is one of the best looking IOS we have seen in a long time.

With their latest scanner, 3Shape have really innovated and taken the market head on. Their new TRIOS flagship scanner has been completely redesigned from top to bottom and as usual for 3Shape products, it looks incredibly stylish and high-tech.

The company has focused on 3 aspects: ergonomic, being effortless and hygienic. This last point may be the most important in the post-pandemic world we find our selves in.

When coupled with a TRIOS Move, the TRIOS 5 will be one of the most futuristic looking scanners available. It will without a doubt be incredibly impressive for patients. After all, one of the biggest benefits of using an intraoral scanner is the wow factor.

Year after year, Medit blows the entire industry away with their gold-standard customer support. 

The Medit Facebook group is something to behold. The company has fostered an incredibly supportive community (easier said than done) and users have direct communication with the heads of the company.

The daily problems of their customers are always addressed promptly and with grace including by Medit’s Chief Technology Officer, Michael Lee, who can be frequently be found in the forums.

The community that Medit has built up has to be one of the most friendly and helpful in the entire industry and this is a reflection of their own company and community support.

Overall, the Aoralscan 3 impressed us in many ways. The scanner performance alone is impressive. Then you learn about all the software applications that come with the Aoralscan 3 and the fact the company makes a great 3D printer which all integrates together. 

There are a lot of low-cost scanners on the market now and most can be used to scan well enough. The thing that differentiates the Aoralscan 3 is the software. Other scanners in this category have very basic software.

The Aoralscan 3 collection of free software applications are rarely seen in low-cost scanners, and the software works very well overall. This scanner has a level of polish and usability typically seen in much more expensive products.

Another great product to consider if you are on a budget. It is incredible how the price point for intraoral scanners has dropped over the years.

Click here to read our review on Shining 3D Aoralscan 3

The Virtuo Vivo surprised us this year. I had low expectations due to my previous negative experiences with the product in 2019. This was echoed by many dentists globally.

Straumann seems to be 100% serious about making this product work and are putting in much more effort than they did previously. The scanner software is completely redesigned and the Vivo now comes bundled in with a high-performance laptop and surgical guide coDiagnostiX software (for 6 months), all included for under $13,000 USD.

This is quite good value and a much better package than before. It is one of the few genuinely plug-and-play solutions, thanks to the inclusion of a laptop with the software pre-installed and ready on startup. This package is designed to make it as simple as possible to get started.

Time will tell how this scanner is adopted in the future and if Straumann can shake the Virtuo Vivo's negative reputation from 2019. It is undoubtedly an strong attempt at a relaunch. 

Click here to read our review on Straumann Virtuo Vivo 

As mentioned above, Medit has been working tirelessly to update their scanner software over the years. Back in November 2020, they released their first few Medit applications. Since then, we now have an entire suite of some of the best digital dentistry apps on the market. All for free.

What is even more impressive about the Medit apps is not that they reinvent the wheel, but rather they make these apps much easier to use, more intuitive and they make the workflows more accessible than ever before. 

Most scanners now are incorporating some application into their scanner such as an orthodontic simulator, model builder etc. However Medit is the only scanner software that has absolutely all of them bundled into one software. Everything from Medit Design, Ortho Simulator, Model Builder, Compare, Temporaries, Smile Design and more!

The Medit software is getting closer and closer to becoming a fully fledged CAD software. I look forward to the day that happens.