Dental Lab Scanner vs Intraoral Scanner: Which One Does Your Practice Need?

The scanner question is really a workflow question: do you capture at the chair, or do you digitise a physical impression at the bench? Both feed the same CAD/CAM chain, but they suit different practices.

Intraoral scanner

• No physical impression — more comfortable for the patient and faster turnaround.
• Enables same-day, chairside dentistry with an in-house printer or mill.
• True-color capture improves shade communication and patient education.

Lab scanner

• Highest accuracy (≤0.005 mm per ISO 12836) for model and die work.
• Handles full-arch and articulated cases the clinic scanner struggles with.
• Fits labs that receive conventional impressions or prints to scan.

How to choose

Both lines export open formats and avoid vendor lock-in; compare the full intraoral and lab scanner range and match accuracy and throughput to your case mix.