Carestream Dental Imaging is a rare manufacturer because it covers almost the entire range of intraoral scanners demanded by dental practices. The sheer number of products in its range is extraordinary.
The easy part for most practices is finding a scanner for your particular purpose, whether it’s a cone beam unit for implant planning and airway assessment or a scanner for digital impressions. The harder part is deciding which of the following pieces you need and what order to buy them in.
Fortunately, this post is here to help. Below, we discuss five of the most popular care stream models and how they compare.
The RVG 6200 – everyday intraoral scanner
The RVG 6200 is the scanner most practices begin with when starting out. This scanner is built around a simple idea: the sensor should be able to collect all relevant information to feed into relevant clinical software.
One nice feature of the RVG 6200 is that there’s no arming step or interface to open first. All you need to do is position it, expose it to the relevant area inside the patient’s mouth, and then review.
The RVG 6200 works alongside the CS Adapt module, which offers dozens of pre-set enhancement filters, plus the ability to save favorites and three anatomical models to cover endodontic, periodontic, and dentin enamel junction work.
Furthermore, the tool is built to be robust, which is particularly helpful if you operate a busy surgery. Casings on the unit are shock-resistant, and they can be fully submerged for infection control. They’re also supplied by a reinforced cable that enters at the rear, which is noticeably thinner and more maneuverable than prior RVG generations.
CS 9300 – 2D and 3D scanning
The CS 9300 combines 2D and 3D scanning in one unit. This makes it perfect for situations where flat image capture is insufficient. It uses dedicated panoramic sensors with cone beam capture for maxillary sinus, TMJ, segmented, and standard imaging. Clinical practices like this unit because of the range of field-of-view sizes. Smaller volumes are suitable for single-endodontic case studies or implant sites, while larger spans are for full maxillofacial and airway studies.
Carestream claims a resolution of up to 90 µm, which is the recommended standard for complex treatment planning in 2026. Systems come with low-dose capture modes for 3D scans that offer exposure levels comparable to routine panoramic imaging. There’s also a child-specific setting that reduces the field size and radiation output, and a cephalometric imaging option that can be added later by the manufacturer for orthodontic-leaning practices.
Choosing between the CS 3600, CS 3700, and CS 3800
Carestream’s three intraoral scanners are among the industry’s best. However, there are differences between them, so it’s worth knowing these in advance of placing your order.
CS 3600
As you might guess from the nomenclature, the CS 3600 is Carestream’s entry-level product for digital impressions. The device scans continuously rather than using stitched stills, so it’s great for performing dual arch and quadrant capture quickly, allowing for higher patient throughput and a better experience.
It comes with an intelligent matching system, allowing you to jump from one location in the mouth to fill gaps without having to tell the software where you are at every stage. There’s a side-oriented option for posterior access, and the device works powder-free. It can export STL and PLY files and connect over USB. There are no license fees or walled gardens.
CS 3700
The CS 3700 adds further capabilities to those already present on the CS3600:
- Smart Shade matching: It offers the ability to sense enamel color from various angles and generate a shade report with a single click. This additional information can then be sent to the lab alongside the conventional STL.
- Hybrid scanning: It’s able to merge a conventional partial impression with an intraoral scan into a single file. This is useful when candidates won’t cooperate with full capture, and it’s particularly useful when serving a lot of children.
The CS 3700’s other advantage, of course, is that it is 20% faster than the 3600. It has more powerful onboard electronics that allow it to scan a single arch in just 30 seconds on the recommended PC. In the background, CS ScanFlow software drives the entire workflow process: scans, check, customize, and export, which is ideal for bracket removal and aligner planning.
Furthermore, there are some nice value-added touches. For example, the handpiece was designed with Studio F. A. Porsche, and the grip channel and on-handpiece jaw switching genuinely improve efficiency by reducing scanning time.
CS 3800
The CS 3800 is Carestream’s wireless flagship. It weighs just 240g with the battery fitted and is among the lightest scanners currently available on the market.
It features some advanced new sensor hardware that widens the field of view to 16 mm by 14 mm and deepens the depth of field to 21 mm, making it faster than the CS 3600 and the CS 3700. This wide capability means that it’s useful for virtually any patient and can scan mouths even in situations when patients are moving.
Batteries swap out easily and give you around an hour of continuous scanning, with a cable connection available as a fallback. It also connects with the Premium ScanFlow tier, enabling various additional modes, including anti-reflection capture and automated model export for in-house 3D printing.
Choosing the kit for you
If you are a general practitioner focusing on restoring and diagnosing day to day, then the RVG 6200 paired with a CS 3600 is probably the best combination. This pairing gives you everyday radiography and digital impression capabilities, reducing the need for old-fashioned molds. If you are adding endodontic or implant work, then the CS 9300 is hard to do without. It allows you to go beyond simple 2D planning, which can leave you with too much guesswork.