Improved Patient Experience
Reviewed by Derek Reznik, DDS, MS
Reznik Orthodontics uses digital scanning instead of putty impressions, 3D imaging for diagnosis and planning, and remote monitoring to reduce the need for some in-person visits. Both the Odessa and Midland offices use the same equipment, so the tools don’t depend on which office you attend.
Technology in an orthodontic office is easy to oversell. A scanner does not straighten teeth, and no piece of equipment substitutes for a diagnosis. What good tools do is narrower and genuinely useful: they make the record of your mouth more accurate, they cut out steps that patients dislike, and they remove trips that do not need to happen. This page says what each one does and stops there.
iTero digital scanning
The old way of recording a patient’s teeth was a tray of putty pressed into the mouth and held there. It was uncomfortable, it made a lot of people gag, and if it distorted while setting or on the way to the lab, you did it again.
An iTero scan replaces that. A handheld wand passes over your teeth and gums and builds a three-dimensional model on the screen in a few minutes. You breathe and swallow normally, and the wand can be stopped and restarted whenever you need a break. If you move, it copes. Repeat scans are rare.
The model appears on the screen while it is being taken, so you can see your own teeth from angles you have never seen them from. That turns out to matter, because a bite problem explained on a model in front of you is far easier to understand than one described in words.
The scan then transfers electronically rather than physically. Nothing gets boxed up and shipped, so appliance and aligner planning starts sooner. Each scan uses a single-use imaging shield.
For anyone considering Invisalign, the scan is also the basis of the treatment plan itself, and it can be used to show an on-screen simulation of the expected result before you commit to anything.
3D imaging and CBCT
Ordinary dental X-rays are flat pictures of a three-dimensional problem. A cone beam scan produces a volumetric image instead, so the doctors can see where roots actually sit, how the jaw joints relate, where an unerupted tooth is hiding and which direction it is heading.
That matters most in the cases that are hardest to guess at: impacted teeth, complex or retreatment cases, and anything being planned alongside jaw surgery. It is diagnostic imaging, taken when the case calls for it rather than routinely.
Remote monitoring between visits
Dental Monitoring lets you send a scan of your own teeth from your phone between appointments. The doctors review the progress and tell you whether to carry on, move to the next aligner, or come in.
In a market where a good number of parents work rotations and out-of-town crews, and where some patients drive in from Greenwood, Stanton or Andrews, that is not a gimmick. It is a way of turning a two-hour round trip into a two-minute scan when the only purpose of the visit was to confirm that things are on track. In-person visits still happen every 4 to 8 weeks when the treatment needs hands on it.
What this actually changes for you
- Fewer unpleasant steps. No putty, no gagging, no retakes because a tray distorted.
- Better information behind the plan. More accurate records and, where the case needs it, a three-dimensional view rather than a flat one.
- Fewer trips that do nothing. Remote check-ins remove some appointments whose only job was to confirm progress.
- Being able to see it. A model on a screen and an on-screen simulation for aligner cases make the conversation about your treatment concrete.
What it does not change is how long treatment takes. Treatment time is driven by how far the teeth have to move, by biology and by whether instructions get followed. Any practice selling you equipment as a shortcut is selling.
The tools matter less than who is using them
Every practice in Odessa and Midland can buy a scanner, and several advertise the same equipment. What differs is the diagnosis and the plan the equipment is used for.
Dr. Megan Reznik and Dr. Derek Reznik are each Diplomates of the American Board of Orthodontics, meaning each has submitted finished cases from their own practice to a panel of examiners and defended them. The scan is a record. The plan is the expertise. See board certification.
What has not changed
Worth saying on a page like this: the underlying biology is exactly what it was thirty years ago. Teeth move because steady light force causes the bone around each root to remodel, and that takes the time it takes. No scanner, printer or software changes it.
What technology changes is the quality of the information the plan is built on, and the number of unpleasant or unnecessary steps between you and the result. Those are real improvements and they are worth having. They are not a shortcut, and this page will not sell you one.
The other thing that has not changed is that the diagnosis is the hard part. Deciding what should move, in what order, and whether a case needs one phase or two, is judgment built over years of treating cases. Equipment supports that judgment; it does not supply it.
See it at a free consultation
Call the Odessa office at (432) 333-7105 or the Midland office at (432) 682-1222, or request an appointment online. The scan is part of the free consultation, and so is the plan that comes out of it. What treatment costs is on the cost and financing page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a digital scan hurt or make me gag?
No. Nothing sets in your mouth and nothing is held in place. The wand passes over the teeth while you breathe and swallow normally, and it can be paused at any point.
How much radiation is involved in 3D imaging?
A cone beam scan involves radiation, which is why it is taken when the case genuinely calls for it rather than as a routine record. The doctors will explain why they are recommending one before it is taken.
Do I need a particular phone for remote monitoring?
A current smartphone with a working camera is enough. The office sets it up with you at an appointment rather than leaving you to work it out, and remote check-ins supplement in-person visits rather than replacing them entirely.
Can I see what my teeth will look like before I start?
For aligner cases, yes. The digital scan supports an on-screen simulation of the expected outcome. It is a projection based on the treatment plan, not a guarantee, and the doctor will tell you where the plan can vary.