An apparatus for intraoral imaging has an intraoral camera that defines a field of view with a first dimension and a second dimension orthogonal to the first dimension. A projector has a laser diode energizable to emit a light beam; a collimator in the path of the emitted light beam; first beam-shaping optics disposed to shape the collimated light beam in the second dimension to form a linear light pattern; focusing optics disposed to focus the shaped collimated beam at a focal plane; and a scanner that is disposed substantially at the focal plane and that is energizable to scan the formed linear light pattern along the second dimension to successive positions of the field of view. A control logic processor coordinates energizing the laser diode and scanner with image capture by the intraoral camera.