The feel, the taste, the smell of the dental goop the dentist uses to take an impression of your teeth can leave you gagging or nauseous or wishing you simply hadn’t sat down in the chair to begin with.

"There's a taste factor that's just not really nice. Then just having that goopy stuff that kind of flows in there, and then you have to wait for it to set. It's not very comfortable," dental patient, Lee Ann said.

A new technology called iTero, a digital impression technology that can take 3-D images of teeth, is a non-invasive way to get the same information, without sticking a tray in your mouth. Dentist and patient can see the image immediately.

"Now, I can see it in real time, in three-dimensions on the screen. So, I know exactly if what we have is what we need. And then I can electronically send that," Dr. David Little said.

The 3-D model is sent to a lab, where a computer uses the information to make a three-dimensional model out of plastic, more durable and accurate than the poured models of stone. The idea is that the crowns made from the models will ultimately fit better.

"It's like taking my teeth out of my mouth and I can physically see what he's talking about when he's talking about making a crown or fitting something perfect just for my mouth," Lee Ann said.

"I want to look at technologies that make it more efficient for the doctor and make it better for the patent," Little said. "And the bottom line is, that means for the patient, it's less time in the chair, which we all want that."

Little has been using this new scanner in his office for about two months now on about 100 patients so far. He says the response has been overwhelmingly positive.