In 2019 and 2020, the COVID outbreak changed our lives and reminded us all how vulnerable we can be. Now, five years later, it feels like every day there is a new warning about a pathogen becoming more resistant.
Dental practices have consistently been leaders in protecting patients and staff from infectious diseases. Standard precautions, such as hand hygiene, personal protective equipment (PPE), and sterilization of instruments and surfaces, are routine in every clinic.
The growth of digital workflows in dentistry has also helped to mitigate the spread of disease, with digital impressions considered to improve infection control and minimize cross-contamination.
In a 3Shape blog post by Dr. Ornella Delli-Rocili Chiabrera , she points out that “digital impressions eliminate the use of trays, chewing waxes, and impression materials, and there’s no need for shipping and handling.”
While digital dentistry pathways help combat the spread of possible pathogens, 3Shape has also considered how it could improve its scanners to make them more hygienic.
In 2022, 3Shape released its TRIOS 5 Wireless intraoral scanner, setting a new patient protection and infection control standard.
The scanner's revamped body design makes it easier to clean. It is hygienically sealed from the tip to its battery inlet, with no cracks or crevices to accumulate soil or contaminants.
The scanner also introduced single-use body sleeves to cover the entire area touched by the operator during scanning to further protect against contamination. At the time, this was such a radical idea that one dentist, when demoing the scanner, commented innocently, "Why didn’t anyone think of this before?”
Since TRIOS 5’s release, many scanner makers have joined the bandwagon and now offer body sleeves as well.
While the sleeves have helped mitigate cross-contamination, 3Shape has sought to take contamination control a step further by introducing single-use scanner tips – TRIOS Ready Tips.
With the release of 3Shape’s latest scanner model, TRIOS 6, the company is now aiming for its scanners' single-use scanner tips to become the new routine for practitioners instead of autoclaving tips.
Like its predecessor, TRIOS 6 is hygienic by design. The scanner body is easy to clean and disinfect. Like the previous model, TRIOS 6 also includes single-use sleeves for the operator to use while scanning.
However, what has changed, and what 3Shape now believes is a more convenient scanning workflow for dental professionals, is the introduction of TRIOS Ready Tips. Having single-use tips also helps to further mitigate patient cross-contamination from the scanner tip.
Each TRIOS Ready Tip comes in an individual hygienically sealed recyclable plastic package
By introducing single-use tips, practices no longer need to autoclave their scanner tips. Importantly, the TRIOS Ready Tips have no impact on scan quality. Dentists just take the single tip from the package and place it on the scanner. And they’re ready to go.
As Danish practitioner Dr. Kaveh Golestani says, “I used to use TRIOS Ready Tips as a standby for my autoclavable tips, but now they’ve become my go-to-tip because of their convenience, and their minimizing the risk of patient cross-contamination.”
For practices that use intraoral scanners, the wand and tips are just more tools they need to disinfect daily. 3Shape Country Manager for the Nordics, Amin Huseynov, who speaks with dentists daily, says that practitioners in the Nordics have in addition, safety concerns about their computer keyboards and screens.
In fact, he believes that Nordic dental professionals, due to their education and training, might be more focused on hygiene and ergonomics than most.
He believes that their concern for hygiene and ergonomics is why TRIOS MOVE+ and the upcoming MOVE Pro setups are so popular in Nordic countries.
Huseynov says, "When you compare MOVE to a PC, with laptops you need to use the mouse, keyboard, or touch the screen. Even when you are wearing gloves, saliva or blood can get onto the keyboard or screen. And keyboards are challenging to clean.
With MOVE, these hygienic issues are not a problem. The screen and the entire MOVE body are easy to wipe down, and there is no keyboard or mouse to disinfect. In addition, the whole idea of ergonomics makes the MOVE much more beneficial to your physical well-being.
You no longer need to bend or twist your neck to see the screen or show your patients; the navigation is either done by touchscreen or by using the TRIOS wand as a remote. It is a much more hygienic and ergonomic solution.”.
Digital pathways are considered more hygienic because they eliminate tasks such as material handling, transportation, cast handling, and the manual creation of appliances and restorations.
While cleaning will always be the necessary first step in any disinfection protocol, with the introduction of TRIOS Ready Tips and setup options like TRIOS MOVE+ and MOVE Pro, 3Shape is hoping to make it more convenient and easier for practices to mitigate many or all disease-causing microorganisms.