Technology & Digital Dentistry at Canobie Dental

Digital scanning

Digital scanners create a detailed three-dimensional model of your teeth.

For many procedures, this can replace traditional impression material. Digital scans can be used to plan restorations, clear aligners, retainers, dental implants, full-arch treatment, and other dental care.

Same-day restorative care

For our patients who need crowns, we can often complete the crown in a single visit using our advanced digital workflow.

Digital scanning and in-office fabrication allow many restorations to be designed, produced, adjusted, and delivered without sending the case through the traditional outside-laboratory workflow.

Not every restoration should be completed the same day. The tooth, material, bite, esthetic requirements, and treatment complexity determine the appropriate workflow.

Dental implant planning

Dental implant treatment has to bring the bone, implant, bite, and final tooth together.

Digital imaging and scanning help us plan those parts together. For larger implant cases, digital workflows may also include facial scanning and photogrammetry to record implant position and help design the final restoration.

Canobie Dental uses the SHINING 3D Aoralscan Elite for intraoral scanning and photogrammetry in selected implant and full-arch workflows. Research on the studied workflow reported reliable complete-arch implant-position capture and strong angular accuracy, but it does not guarantee a particular clinical outcome or make one workflow universally superior.

Orthodontics & retainers

Digital scans can be used to evaluate tooth position, plan clear-aligner treatment, monitor changes, and make retainers without relying on conventional impressions for every case.

A digital treatment simulation helps explain the plan but is not a guarantee of the final result.

Facial & smile scanning

For selected cosmetic, restorative, and implant cases, facial scanning can help us evaluate how the teeth relate to the smile and face.

These tools are used for planning and communication. They do not replace clinical judgment or promise an exact cosmetic outcome.

Dental X-rays have changed

A lot about dental X-rays has changed over the years.

In 1896, German dentist Otto Walkhoff produced one of the earliest dental radiographs using an exposure that took about 25 minutes. Today, Canobie Dental uses portable carbon-nanotube digital X-ray technology that captures intraoral images in a fraction of a second.

The American Dental Association updated its recommendations in 2024 and no longer recommends routine lead aprons or thyroid collars for dental X-rays. Modern digital imaging, careful beam restriction, good positioning, and taking X-rays when they are clinically useful are more effective ways to reduce unnecessary exposure. Shielding can sometimes obstruct the primary beam and lead to a retake.

A peer-reviewed study of the handheld system examined operator exposure and shielding in its tested conditions; it does not establish patient-dose superiority or make one device universally best.

We use dental imaging when it helps answer a clinical question or plan treatment. The goal is useful diagnostic information with efficient, patient-specific imaging, not X-rays simply because a fixed routine says they are due.

Technology for clearer, more convenient care

Technology is most useful when it helps you see what we see, understand your options, and move through care with fewer unnecessary steps.

Digital imaging, scanning, planning, aligner and retainer workflows, same-day restorative care, and implant or full-arch planning help us coordinate care while keeping the conversation focused on your needs.