A handheld intraoral dental 3D camera comprising: a hand-held housing which includes: an optical unit comprising: an illuminating means for producing light, and a projecting means for projecting the light produced by the illuminating means onto a region of a tooth surface of a patient; a sensing unit for sensing an image of the projected light reflected by the region, wherein the illuminating means comprises a semiconductor laser for producing the light; characterised in that: the projection means comprises phosphor which is remotely arranged to receive the light produced by the semiconductor laser, wherein the projection means is further adapted to condense the light of the semiconductor laser onto the phosphor, and to project the fluorescent light from the phosphor onto the region of the tooth surface of the patient and in that the projection means comprises a cooling plate having a reflective section, wherein the phosphor is arranged on the reflective section in thermal contact with the cooling plate. a hand-held housing which includes: an optical unit comprising: an illuminating means for producing light, and a projecting means for projecting the light produced by the illuminating means onto a region of a tooth surface of a patient; a sensing unit for sensing an image of the projected light reflected by the region, wherein the illuminating means comprises a semiconductor laser for producing the light; characterised in that: the projection means comprises phosphor which is remotely arranged to receive the light produced by the semiconductor laser, wherein the projection means is further adapted to condense the light of the semiconductor laser onto the phosphor, and to project the fluorescent light from the phosphor onto the region of the tooth surface of the patient and in that the projection means comprises a cooling plate having a reflective section, wherein the phosphor is arranged on the reflective section in thermal contact with the cooling plate. an optical unit comprising: an illuminating means for producing light, and a projecting means for projecting the light produced by the illuminating means onto a region of a tooth surface of a patient; a sensing unit for sensing an image of the projected light reflected by the region, wherein the illuminating means comprises a semiconductor laser for producing the light; characterised in that: the projection means comprises phosphor which is remotely arranged to receive the light produced by the semiconductor laser, wherein the projection means is further adapted to condense the light of the semiconductor laser onto the phosphor, and to project the fluorescent light from the phosphor onto the region of the tooth surface of the patient and in that the projection means comprises a cooling plate having a reflective section, wherein the phosphor is arranged on the reflective section in thermal contact with the cooling plate. the projection means comprises phosphor which is remotely arranged to receive the light produced by the semiconductor laser, wherein the projection means is further adapted to condense the light of the semiconductor laser onto the phosphor, and to project the fluorescent light from the phosphor onto the region of the tooth surface of the patient and in that the projection means comprises a cooling plate having a reflective section, wherein the phosphor is arranged on the reflective section in thermal contact with the cooling plate.