This intraoral scanner is a massive upgrade over the previous generation Aoralscan 3 and seems to be the go-to SHINING 3D scanner now.

It is smaller and lighter and comes with an intraoral photogrammetry kit - a first of its kind in digital dentistry. This is a true innovation, and the company just pioneered a new workflow. Exciting stuff.

This company seems poised to make waves in the market, especially for implant specialists and those focusing on full-arch rehabilitation cases.

At iDD, we've always been at the forefront of digital dentistry advancements, and now I can finally share what we know about this upcoming release. I was lucky to get pre-release access to the scanner to test in the clinic.

The Aoralscan Elite is not just another IOS - it's a dedicated solution for full arch implant scanning. 

SHINING 3D has listened to the challenges faced by implantologists and aims to address common issues such as:

• Unstable soft tissue
• Insufficient scan body data details
• Poor scan body matching accuracy
• Inaccuracies with full arch scans

This focus on implant scanning extends to All-on-X immediate loading cases, suggesting the Aoralscan Elite could be a game-changer for complex full-arch rehabilitations.

As digital implantology enthusiasts ourselves, we're particularly intrigued by this focus, as we know the struggle with these issues in your implant workflows. 

One of the most intriguing features of the Aoralscan Elite is its incorporation of intraoral photogrammetry (IPG) and a coded scan-body kit that comes included with every scanner. You essentially get a photogrammetry solution with it for free.

This coded scan body system works via a new software workflow within the SHINING 3D software. The coded scan bodies are placed on each MUA on each implant and then confirmed with an OPG for seating.

Then, via the 3 software steps, you scan the edentulous ridge, scan the scan bodies (the photogrammetry part kicks in here as the scanner is scanning only the dots and their relative position to each other), and scan the scan body itself and ridge to align this all together.

The company claims that this two-in-one system has an impressive 5µm precision, potentially setting a new standard for full-arch implant accuracy in the IOS market. 

These coded scanbodies are autoclavable up to 300 times. 

This was a totally unexpected innovation from this company, which only four years ago was completely ignored in the market and seen as a totally inferior product. 

Now, they seem to be providing solutions that no other company has come up with.

The implant systems supported at launch are separated into four different connection types:

HACS - A: Nobel Biocare, Osstem Implant, MegaGen (Multi Unit Abutment N-TYPE), Adin, Trausim, Bioconcept, Neoss, Cortex, Galimplant (Multi-position pillar), Neo Biotech, MIS, Ticare, Camlog, Hiossen Implant, WEGO, Bio Horizons, ZimVie, Neodent, JDentalCare, Dentis Implant, Ditron Dental, AB, Implant Direct, BTK, Vitronex Elite Implant, XiVE

HACS - B: MegaGen (Multi Unit Abutment S-TYPE)

HACS - C: Dentium, Galimplant (Aesthetic Multi-position)

HACS - D: Straumann

If your system isn't listed enquire with your dealer as they mentioned on the launch webinar some brands that are coming soon.

OK, so implant scanning aside, this is also a big upgrade in terms of ergonomics and design compared to the previous generation Aoralscan 3.

The SHINING 3D Elite weighs only 124g, easily making it the lightest scanner on the market recently.

This, combined with its small size and metallic body, makes it a major upgrade over the previous generation of SHINING 3D scanners.

Now, I have to note that it is also a simple USB connection. It doesn’t have the same power cable adapters that we usually get with SHINING 3D’s IOS predecessors, which I often complained about in reviews.

The scanner also comes with 6 scanner tips in 3 different sizes - small, medium, and big (IPG). All can be autoclaved up to 100 times.

The largest tip measures 19mm x 14mm, which is large. This seems to be a trend with scanners now: large scanning tips. From experience, this helps tremendously with scanning edentulous patients, especially, and fits into the scanner's focus on full arch implants.

One standout feature of the Aoralscan Elite is its improved capability for edentulous scanning, especially compared to the Aoralscan 3, which was not very good at that at all.

This is crucial for implant cases and full-arch rehabilitations, where capturing accurate soft tissue information can be challenging. 

The main reason it performs so much better is the larger tip and scanning field of view. This trend is being seen across the entire market, from the i900 to the iTero Lumina and now SHINING 3D Elite.