You know Dentsply, as they’ve been around since 1899 (back then called Dentists’ Supply Company), and to celebrate their 120th anniversary they launched the Primescan intraoral scanner, available with or without a CEREC (Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramic) system. The major advantage of the CEREC system: same-day crowns, bridges, abutments, and veneers milled in-(your)house. The major pains: equipment is upwards of $100,000 and since it is in your house that means managing production of another entire facet of dentistry.
Running an in-house lab comes with the costs of your and the staff’s time designing, milling, finishing, ordering materials, and maintenance—which often leads to inefficiencies and doctors’ valuable time being pulled away from their patients. Desktop mills are a lower quality than those in top labs. Also, by only ordering materials for your practice there is no economy of scale to be had in that ledger. Plus not every treatment—such as Clear Aligners, Night Guards, and mandibular advancement devices—can be handled in-house with a CEREC milling machine so you will still need to manage outside lab relationships or explore also purchasing a 3D printer.
The Primescan scanner itself is a great tool with excellent speed and accuracy and average edentulous scanning and heft, though it has a below average ease of use due to its bulky, heavy wand and does not offer caries detection.
The tool comes at price: even without the CEREC system you could spend $40,000 on the CEREC Primescan alone.
For those dental professionals interested in intricate specs and details on Dentsply Sirona’s Primescan’s intraoral digital scanner model we have provided available information below including speed, accuracy, ease of use, software compatibility, and ballpark pricing.
Information in short: Dentsply Sirona CEREC Primescan scanner vs Dandy’s digital dental solution
The Primescan by Dentsply Sirona that works with CEREC is an expensive device while Dandy offers our dental partners 3Shape TRIOS scanners for free. The TRIOS scanners have a great ease of use whereas the Primescan is a bit on the bulky side. Along with adopting the CEREC system you have now set yourself up to run a mini-lab in addition to your other clinical and managerial duties, the smaller mills are not as good as the industrial mills at labs, you can’t buy materials at scale to earn margin savings, and if you want to service more of your patients you will also have to adopt an even more expensive 3D printer.
Dandy offers dental practices a free intraoral scanner.
Model: Dentsply Sirona (CEREC) Primescan scanner
Overview of functionality
Weight: 31kg
TFT LED flat-screen display, HD resolution
Patented Smart Pixel Sensor captures sharp scans in up to 20mm depth and intelligent processing scans 1.5 million 3D data points per second
Option of disposable or stainless steel sleeves
Seamless scans and transfer options mean labs receive high-resolution models instantly
Scans work for implantology, orthodontic treatment, and sleep appliances
Comes with a work station for mobility
The Dentsply Sirona Primescan scanner an be used for patient monitoring or upgraded to a full chairside CEREC system
CEREC Primescan ease of use
The scanner is below average compared to other scanners because of its larger size and weight.
Speed
50,000 images per second, excellent
Accuracy
Full-arch scan in under 45 seconds; the most accurate device according to a 2022 study.
Software compatibility
Primescan AC with Connect Software
CEREC Primescan AC with CEREC Software
Connect Case Center works with many major labs’ software
DS Core cloud
System requirements
Intel processor. 32 GB RAM.
OS: Windows 10, 64 bit
Price of Dentsply Sirona (CEREC) Primescan scanner
Prices quotes differ based on the package that works best for your practice, here is what we have seen:
- $40,000 for the scanner
- $70,000 for scanner including in-house milling
- $100,000+ for Primescan model that includes CAD/CAM software, milling machine, and a furnace.
Dentsply Sirona (CEREC) Primescan conclusion:
Dentsply Sirona’s Primescan intraoral scanner is a highly accurate, high-speed scanner that comes at a high price tag. The major consideration for doctors deciding to make the lofty financial and practice-consuming commitment is: To CEREC or not to CEREC?
View a comparison of all the top intraoral scanners in the market here!
Conclusion: Is the Dentsply Sirona CEREC Primescan scanner right for you?
Compared to Dandy’s digital solution the Dentsply Sirona CEREC Primescan is worse for your ledger, staff (bulky), and time. The Primescan device and equipment are very pricey, while Dandy offers 3Shape TRIOS scanners for free. Running a dental laboratory is not for everybody and the mini-in-house version doesn’t come close to the quality and ease of partnering with a major lab like Dandy.
