A method of scanning a patient's mouth using a robot to obtain a 3-D model of the patient's teeth. A database can contain a 3D model of a generic jaw geometry approximated in size by geometric parameters and at least one jaw scanning pattern. Geometric measurements of a patient's jaw are taken, then these are applied to the geometric parameters of the generic jaw. A predetermined scanning pattern is used to program the robot to scan the teeth with a scanner. The robot program is executed to move the scanner along the jaw scanning pattern at a fixed or variable distance from surfaces of the patient's jaw in sequences of coverage to the end of a scanning pattern to produce a three-dimensional (3D) model of the patient's teeth.
