Why I Use... TRIOS Smile Design
Make your case with software that excites patients and stimulates dynamic conversations around treatment
Just a few years after investing in the 3Shape TRIOS intraoral scanner, Naren Rajan, DMD, went from being frustrated with technology to an advocate for digital techniques. In this article, he shares how the TRIOS scanner and its suite of collaborative software solutions, including Smile Design, allow him to create powerful experiences for his patients while communicating his vision and treatment plan like never before.
Naren Rajan, DMD
Dr. Rajan maintains a full-time general practice in Mendham, NJ, focused on restorative, implant, and esthetic dentistry. A native of NJ, he graduated from Rutgers University, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine with honors, followed by a general practice residency at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, NJ. Dr. Rajan was inducted into OKU, the National Dental Honor Society, and received his Fellowship in the AGD. He is the Assistant Director of Digital Dentistry at Touro College of Dental Medicine and lectures nationally on digital techniques, such as incorporating the digital impression workflow into general practice.
Earlier in my career, I had a few years when I was doing CAD/CAM dentistry routinely. At that time, the materials we were using had not yet evolved into what’s available today. I was milling a lot of feldspathic porcelain, which definitely had its limitations, and we were starting to see breakages.
It was frustrating that the technology was not living up to what I hoped for, and I eventually just gave up and went back to analog dentistry. I didn’t want to hear about digital or even think about computerized dentistry. But about 5 years ago, I started to test the waters again and see what had changed in the marketplace. All of a sudden, it wasn’t just about same-day dentistry—it was about diagnostics and digitizing the impression procedure.
I took the leap and invested in the 3Shape TRIOS scanner. It changed not only the trajectory of my practice, but my dental career, as well, because I got into speaking and teaching on digital techniques shortly after that.
Bridging a Case Together
The preeminent reason most dentists consider an intraoral scanner is to replace physical impression material—but that’s actually the last reason I use it. The real benefit comes from combining the scanner with additional software features, such as TRIOS Smile Design, that allow me to seamlessly collaborate with my patients and create a dynamic and substantive conversation that was not possible before.
Within the Smile Design software, we can use natural tooth libraries digitized from actual patients instead of lab technician-created shapes. During consults, we use a physical coffee table-sized book to show our patients different options from this library. Once they choose a smile they like in the book, we choose the same file in the digital library and “try on” that smile shape on the patient’s photograph.
Smile Design is one of my favorite consults to do because it allows me to really engage with the patient, learn about their needs, and design the exact smile that he or she is looking for. Ultimately, it reduces the number of remakes or redos needed, which we all know are stressful, time-consuming, and costly for both doctor and patient.
TRIOS Smile Design is essentially a glue that bridges a case together from diagnosis to conception to execution, and I believe that every case can benefit from being planned this way—whether it is 2 centrals or an entire arch.
