How Scan Ladder Works: Step-by-Step Guide and Insights

Thinking of Photogrammetry?

Here’s what the brochures don’t tell you.

Read on to understand why full-arch accuracy is not an optics problem. It’s a geometry problem. And how SCAN LADDER solves this clinically.

              
                      1K+
                    Users Globally

                      24/7
                    Support availability

                      2000+
                    All On X Cases completed

                      100+
                    Compatible Systems

The real problem in full-arch scanning

Most full-arch inaccuracies are not caused by scanner quality or laboratory skill.

They arise from geometric instability during data capture.

Traditional workflows assume that optical systems alone can resolve implant positions accurately across long spans. In reality, cumulative drift, angular variation and reference instability introduce errors long before the scan reaches the laboratory stage.

Scan Ladder reframes the problem:

full-arch accuracy is a geometric challenge, not an optical one.

The hidden assumptions of photogrammetry

Extraoral photogrammetry systems rely on idealised conditions that rarely exist in real clinical environments.

They assume:

perfect camera angles and line-of-sight
laboratory-like stability
absence of soft-tissue interference
zero intraoral movement

While photogrammetry can be highly accurate under controlled conditions, these assumptions limit reliability in everyday clinical practice. Scan Ladder was designed specifically for the realities of intraoral scanning—not theoretical perfection.

What actually happens in the mouth

In real patients, implant scanning faces unavoidable biological and clinical variables:

implants may be partially obscured
soft tissue moves and deforms
intraoral angles vary continuously
scan data accumulates drift
soft tissue and implant data rarely align perfectly

These factors explain why highly sophisticated optical systems can still produce inconsistent full-arch results.

Scan Ladder introduces a stable geometric reference framework that remains reliable even when biological conditions are imperfect.

Architecture-driven accuracy

Scan Ladder is not just a scan body system—it is a reference architecture.

Its design introduces:

centralised geometric anchoring
unique per-body landmark geometry
controlled rotational indexing
a single-cylinder library architecture
deterministic spatial identification

By stabilising spatial relationships early in the scanning process, Scan Ladder reduces cumulative error and improves full-arch positional reliability across scanners and software platforms.

This is why Scan Ladder behaves fundamentally differently from conventional scan bodies.

Integrating implant and soft tissue data

Accurate implant positioning alone is not sufficient. Soft tissue geometry must also align with implant data for predictable prosthetic outcomes.

TissueSync™ extends the Scan Ladder architecture to soft tissue capture by:

linking implant and tissue datasets through shared reference geometry
enabling reliable dataset merging
reducing mismatch between implant position and soft tissue contours

This creates a unified spatial model rather than disconnected datasets. The result is clinically meaningful accuracy—not just digital precision.

Read the Latest Accuracy Paper

Scan Ladder introduces a new category of reference geometry for full-arch implant workflows.

Rather than relying solely on optics, algorithms or post-processing correction, it stabilises spatial relationships at the point of data acquisition.

This shift—from optical dependency to geometric architecture—explains why Scan Ladder consistently improves accuracy across:

intraoral scanners
CAD software
implant systems
clinical skill levels

Scan Ladder is not an alternative to photogrammetry. It is a fundamentally different solution to the same problem.

Scan Ladder x Medit Smart X Accuracy Paper Independent Testing Proving Scan Ladder

"I believe in delivering not just new technology products, but better experiences for both the clinician and technician. Every detail and every piece of feedback matters to me, enabling me to evolve what is the ultimate universal All On X tool to increase accuracy and better the service to patients in what we do"

Adam Nulty

Creator of Scan Ladder

Our Milestones

Adam Nulty has designed many models that can aid in Digital Dentistry.

From Scan Tools, PPE devices to Training devices and more.

Visit the IDDA at www.idda.org to download more free tools that he has designed.

Read on for the current version of the evolution of the Scan Ladder

2018

Scan Ladder Version 1
2023

Scan Ladder Indirect Kit with Random Surface Launched
2024

Scan Ladder Titanium Direct Kit launched with Rosen Screws direct to MUA
2025

Version 2 of the Scan Ladder incorporates Common Central Match tech

With Scan Ladder you can do immediate loading SAME DAY, in a full digital protocol.

The Scan Ladder Titanium Direct kit provides the clinician the ability to virtually CAD design with under 20 micron deviation on the same visit.

Each scan body contains the PATENTED random surface.

Each scan body is unique so that the scanner can easily identify position without confusion.

Each scan body contains the PATENTED Central Common Matching hub to work alongside an irregular surface in an All On X scenario so that only ONE library is needed. Simplicity at its best

Proven Accuracy

The Scan Ladder was tested in vivo in a peer reviewed study paper showing accuracy on par with intra oral photogrammetry devices such as the Shining Elite and extra oral photogrammetry.

Read the paper

Arch OR Central Focus

The Scan Ladder Titanium Direct scan bodys allow arch positioning OR central focused scanning meaning the first few frames are close together for increased cross arch accuracy.

With the patented common match cylinder combined with the patented random surface tech, it doesnt matter if only some of the scan bodies are captured.

The common match cylinder also means that the Scan Ladder system is the ONLY All On X system that can be repositioned mid scan without affecting data match or accuracy as the common match cylinder remains exactly the same.

HISTORY OF THE SCAN LADDER

Originally designed by Prof Adam Nulty in 2018, the Scan Ladder(TM) has been through several iterations. The first version was developed in 2018 to improve accuracy in full arch scans in edentulous cases.

Since 2018 the Scan Ladder has evolved through several iterations to increase function and accuracy in application. Namely, through the development of the random scanning surface, similar features/surfaces that can cause error are avoided. There is no tie to specific workflows, manufacturers, labs or scanners.

The newest version designed by Prof Nulty is the ONLY full arch accuracy tool that combines simplicity, openness and a completely random structure. The patented random surface and patented central common match point combined is key to ultimate accuracy.

Direct Kit Indirect Kit

Thinking of Photogrammetry?

1K+

24/7

2000+

100+

The real problem in full-arch scanning

The hidden assumptions of photogrammetry

What actually happens in the mouth

Architecture-driven accuracy

Integrating implant and soft tissue data

Read the Latest Accuracy Paper

Our Milestones

2018

2023

2024

2025

With Scan Ladder you can do immediate loading SAME DAY, in a full digital protocol.

Proven Accuracy

13 MICRONS

Arch OR Central Focus

HISTORY OF THE SCAN LADDER

Purchase the Scan Ladder Kit Below

Scan Ladder Titanium Direct Kit

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