ACCURACY OF COMPLETE-ARCH DENTAL IMPRESSIONS: A NEW METHOD OF MEASURING TRUENESS AND PRECISION

Statement of problem. A new approach to both 3-dimensional (3D) trueness and precision is necessary to assess the accuracy of intraoral digital impressions and compare them to conventionally acquired impressions. Purpose. The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate whether a new reference scanner is capable of measuring conventional and digital intraoral complete-arch impressions for 3D accuracy. Material and methods. A steel reference dentate model was fabricated and measured with a reference scanner (digital reference model). Conventional impressions were made from the reference model, poured with Type IV dental stone, scanned with the reference scanner, and exported as digital models. Additionally, digital impressions of the reference model were made and the digital models were exported. Precision was measured by superimposing the digital models within each group. Superimposing the digital models on the digital reference model assessed the trueness of each impression method. Statistical significance was assessed with an independent sample t test (alpha=.05). Results. The reference scanner delivered high accuracy over the entire dental arch with a precision of 1.6 +/- 0.6 mu m and a trueness of 5.3 +/- 1.1 mu m. Conventional impressions showed significantly higher precision (12.5 +/- 2.5 mu m) and trueness values (20.4 +/- 2.2 mu m) with small deviations in the second molar region (P<.001). Digital impressions were significantly less accurate with a precision of 32.4 +/- 9.6 mu m and a trueness of 58.6 1 +/- 5.8 mu m (P<.001). More systematic deviations of the digital models were visible across the entire dental arch. Conclusions. The new reference scanner is capable of measuring the precision and trueness of both digital and conventional complete-arch impressions. The digital impression is less accurate and shows a different pattern of deviation than the conventional impression. (J Prosthet Dent 2013;109:121-128)