Evaluation of the accuracy of two intraoral scanners: an in vitro investigation

Aim – to compare the accuracy of two intraoral scanners common in modern dentistry when scanning dentition with partial tooth loss in vitro; to guide dentists in choosing a scanner for use in clinical practice.

Material and methods. The study compared two scanners: Medit I700 (Medit Corp, Seoul, South Korea) and TRIOS 3 (3Shape A/S, Copenhagen, Denmark). At the outset, 18 analog dental impressions of patients were taken, from which plaster models were cast. The models were scanned with a laboratory scanner (ATOS Blue Light Triple Scan III, 8 megapixels, 100 mm lens, GOM mbh, Braunschweig, Germany) to obtain reference scanning data. Next, 18 dental rows of the same patients were scanned on the compared intraoral scanners. The sets of all scan data were uploaded to software for three-dimensional accuracy assessment (Geomagic Qualify, 2013, Morrisville, NC).

Results. The smallest standard deviation in accuracy measurements between the reference dataset and the various intraoral scanner datasets was obtained using the Medit I700 (0.142 mm). The lowest arithmetic mean of all deviations was found in the TRIOS 3 scanner (0.005 mm). On average, the TRIOS 3 scanner showed more accurate results. However, there were no statistically significant differences between the two Medit I700 and TRIOS 3 scanners (p <0.05).

Conclusion. In this in vitro study, both oral scanners demonstrated clinically acceptable results in terms of accuracy.