We have a convertible that we like to drive on the weekends when the weather is good, which in Texas is the opposite of most places. We drive the convertible from around October through May; from the end of May to October, it’s just too hot! The car itself is a 2015 Audi RS5 convertible—fun to drive, loud, fast, and a bright red cabriolet. In fact, this is the last year Audi made an RS5 convertible. We get calls from Audi all the time trying to buy this car, but until they start making an RS5 in a convertible again, we’re keeping it.
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Sometimes, car companies just don’t make the model you want in the configuration you want. The same can be said for dental companies, and Align Technology is no different. As much as I love my iTero Element 5D Plus, I know some people don’t want a cart-based scanner and prefer a laptop-based scanner. For those clinicians, Align recently introduced the iTero Element 5D Imaging System with Plus package and laptop.
With this scanner, Align has taken the power and features of the iTero Element 5D Plus, removed the cart, and added a powerful laptop. This may fit many clinicians’ practice better than the cart. The laptop, a Dell, is included with purchase along with accompanying support and manufacturer warranty. With this laptop-based system, iTero offers the same dedicated support and clinical training that set them apart from most other scanners on the market. Hardware replacements, unlimited scans, compliant cloud storage, and all software releases and updates are included.
The iTero Element 5D Imaging System with Plus package and laptop offers similar features to the cart-based system: NIRI technology for caries detection, Occlusogram for occlusal visualization, and time-lapse technology for visualizing changes over time. Invisalign Outcome Simulator Pro gives patients a visualization of what they will look like postorthodontic treatment.
In addition, it offers all the restorative and orthodontic workflows that iTero has been known for over the past decade. This is the whole package—just with a laptop instead of a cart! In terms of cost, the iTero Element 5D Imaging System with Plus package and laptop is less expensive than the flagship cart version, a bonus for the more cost-conscious clinicians out there. Nothing has changed my practice like iTero has.
Now it offers more flexible options—great for everyone. If you want to change your practice, it starts with iTero!
Joshua Austin, DDS, MAGD, is a graduate and former faculty member of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio School of Dentistry. Author of Dental Economics’ Pearls for Your Practice column, Dr. Austin lectures nationally on products, dental technology, online reputation management, and social media. He maintains a full-time restorative dentistry private practice in San Antonio, Texas. You may contact Dr. Austin at [email protected].
Editor's note: This article appeared in the November 2023 print edition of Dental Economics magazine. Dentists in North America are eligible for a complimentary print subscription. Sign up here.
