Digital Impressions: Check the Scan Before It Becomes a Case

A scan can arrive in seconds and still not be a case. Margins half captured, the opposing arch missing, the bite unclear. Many labs only find out in design, when the file finally gets a careful look.

The fix is simple and often skipped: check the scan when it arrives, against a short list, and answer the practice the same day.

Whether the case is complete is the job of the case intake checklist. This article is only about checking the scan itself when it arrives.

What to look at in the first five minutes

• The preparation and margin are fully captured
• Both arches are there when the restoration needs them
• The bite or occlusion record is usable
• The file opens and matches the prescription and the patient

A scan is not accepted because it arrived. It is accepted because someone looked at it.

Answer fast, with what is missing

When the scan is not usable, say so the same day and name exactly what to resend. A practice can fix a capture while the patient context is still fresh. A week later, the same request often means a new appointment.

Keep that exchange on the case, next to the files. When the new scan arrives, anyone can see what changed and why.

Keep the scan history on the case

Scans live in the portal you received them through, plus messages and shared folders. When design asks which version was approved, the answer should not depend on who downloaded what. Dentys keeps the files and their versions with the prescription and the messages, so the scan that was checked is the scan that gets designed.

Try it on this week's scans

For a week, log every scan problem and the day you found it. If most of them were visible on day one, your problem is not scanning. It is when the lab looks.