Accuracy of Intraoral Scanners for Recording the Denture Bearing Areas: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Purpose To systematically review clinical and laboratory studies that investigated the accuracy of intraoral scanners in recording denture bearing areas. Materials and methods Electronic and manual searches were conducted to identify all the available clinical and laboratory studies reporting the accuracy of digital impressions for recording denture related soft tissues. After the application of predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria, the final list of articles was reviewed to meet the objective of this study. Results The inclusion criteria were met by 18 studies out of which 8 were clinical and the rest were laboratory investigations. The eligible studies assessed the accuracy of intraoral scanners in recording both the denture supporting structures and the peripheral mobile tissues. The accuracy results were different among the various intraoral scanners. Likewise, the effect of several influencing factors, such as artificial markers, scanner head size, scanning strategy, and the operator's experience, were evaluated. Conclusion While the accuracy of intraoral scanners was comparable to the conventional techniques in recording bony structures with attached mucosa, they were not capable of accurately registering the mobile tissues. In addition, factors such as presence of a marker, larger scanner head size and specific scanning techniques appeared to improve the accuracy of the digital impression.

Digital technology for fabrication of removable dental prosthesis with double crowns combining fiber-reinforced composite and zirconia

“…Digital impression data were acquired using an IOS to fabricate the prosthesis. The accuracy of IOSs is reportedly comparable to that of conventional impressions if the unevenness of the residual ridges is sufficient in height and width and is covered with attached mucosa, as in the present case [20]. However, an IOS cannot be used to make pressure impressions of the mucosa on the residual ridge.…”

Clinical Applications of Intraoral Scanning in Removable Prosthodontics: A Literature Review

“…However, it is difficult to combine digital images because of the lack of clear soft tissue landmarks 45,46 . Recent systematic reviews indicate that the accuracy of IOS for edentulous ridges is comparable to those of conventional methods, even though it is not yet considered an effective alternative to conventional methods unless for preliminary impressions 56 . A clinical study compared the three‐dimensional differences between IOS and conventional impressions of the maxilla and mandible in 10 patients, and reported that superimposition of the scans showed that the differences between the two methods were not statistically significant 57 .…”

Fit and retention of complete denture bases: Part II – conventional impressions versus digital scans: A clinical controlled crossover study

“…When peripheral borders of conventional impressions were trimmed to the identical extent of the intraoral scan, the resulting accuracy value was improved, and intraoral scans and conventional impressions were reported to be statistically similar. 15,16 Since physical denture retention is obtained by peripheral and inner compression seals, the trimming of the border might compromise the suction of the denture against the tissues. 17 A combination of conventional border molding and an intraoral scan has been described to compensate for the shortcomings of the scan.…”