Held in Monaco, the Imagina Dental fair is now entirely devoted to the use of 3D, laser and other new technology in dentistry. Rapid technological progress means dentistry is one of the most innovative disciplines in healthcare today. Over the course of three days, specialists from all over the world have a chance to exchange expertise and know-how at the fair. "Last year, we decided to organise this congress to show that 3D technology can considerably improve things both for the dental industry and for patients' comfort. This new edition of Imagina Dental is an opportunity to keep up with changes in this field," explained Laurent Puons, Imagina's general manager. At the fair, Danish company 3Shape presented a new, lighter version of Trios, a device used to scan patients' mouths and take real-time dental impressions, replacing the old, time-consuming plaster method. A portable device that can be connected to any laptop, it offers pictures of the patient's mouth, allowing the dentist to offer an immediate diagnosis. Dental scanning expert Guillaume Bosert explained: "The advantage of this system is that you get a very realistic colour photo. So this will improve the practitioner's relationship with the patient." Pointing to the screen Bosert said: "The results are very precise, as you can see here, the outline and shape of the tooth, and so the practitioner can give the patient a precise diagnosis." Using a digital file, the Stratasys 3D printer produces mouth models made of synthetic resin. Thanks to these models, dental labs can accurately and rapidly produce crowns, bridges and a range of other orthodontic appliances, bypassing the lengthy process of manual modeling. Italian company MyRay presented the latest in dental tomography; a very precise scanner used to locate pathologies in a patient's mouth. It replaces the old black and white X-rays. "The benefits are more comfort for the patient, a lower dose of rays, and the main advantage with a 3D picture is that we can see it from above, below, left and right, thereby reducing the risk of positioning the future implant incorrectly," said product manager Massimo Basani. After the exam, the dentist can choose to visualise the patient's mouth with or without bones or soft tissue, in order to make the best diagnosis. euronews knowledge brings you a fresh mix of the world's most interesting know-hows, directly from space and sci-tech experts. Subscribe for your dose of space (Mondays) and sci-tech (Wednesdays): http://eurone.ws/Y9QTy3 Made by euronews, the most watched news channel in Europe.

• published: 12 Nov 2014
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