A comparative invitro study on the trueness of digital impressions in different sizes of acquired maxillary defects

Abstract

Aim of the study: Digital impressions captured by intraoral scanners (IOS) are increasingly used in dentistry. However, research on their accuracy for maxillary defects is limited. This study aimed to assess the trueness of digital impressions of various maxillary defect sizes captured by an IOS compared to a desktop scanner. Methods: Three groups of models with different maxillary defects were created: Group I (midline defect), group II (unilateral defect), and group III (posterior defect). Reference models were digitized using a desktop scanner, and six digital impressions were captured with the IOS for every group (n=18). The impressions were evaluated using Medit Link software program regarding the trueness of the entire model and the defected area as well. One-way ANOVA and Tukey post hoc tests were used for statistical analysis. Results: Group I exhibited the highest model and defect deviation with mean (0.094 ± 0.007 and 0.088 ± 0.008 mm), followed by group II with mean (0.084 ± 0.0032 and 0.054 ± 0.0046 mm). Group III showed the lowest deviation with (0.050 ± 0.0079 and 0.009 ± 0.0019 mm). Significant differences were found among all groups (p < .05). Conclusions: This study concluded that increasing the size of maxillary defects negatively impacts the accuracy of the intraoral scanning.