Effect of Implant Scan Body type, Intraoral scanner and Scan Strategy on the accuracy and scanning time of a maxillary complete arch implant scans: an in vitro study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the influence of three Implant Scan Bodies (ISBs), four intraoral scanners (IOSs), and two scan strategies on the trueness of complete arch implant scans. METHODS: A reference digital cast of an all-on-six maxillary rehabilitation was obtained using a coordinate measuring machine. Three ISBs - AQ (ISB-AQ), One-shot, Elos (ISB-PEEK) - four IOSs - Trios3POD (TRIOS), Medit i700 (MED), iTero Element 5D (iTe), Primescan (PRIME) - and two scan strategies - Zig-zag (ZZ), One-shot (OS) - were used for evaluation. For each group created by the combination of the different variables, 10 digital scans were taken by one operator (n = 240) under controlled temperature and lighting conditions. The positions of the ISB connections were compared to the standard tessellation language reference file by using the nurbs-to-nurbs method. The overall 3D linear and angular deviations of the ISBs connections between reference and test scans were evaluated by computing the Euler distances (alpha=0.05). Interimplant distance discrepancies were calculated at the ISB connection level. Scanning times were recorded. RESULTS: Regarding linear and angular deviations, AQ had significantly higher trueness than the other ISBs (p < 0.01). TRIOS showed significantly higher trueness (p < 0.01). No significant differences for scan strategies were found (p > 0.05). ISB-OneSh, Primescan and ZZ method resulted in significant shortest scanning times (p<<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: ISB-AQ demonstrated higher trueness than One-Shot and PEEK. TRIOS performed better than the other IOSs. Scan strategy didn't influence the trueness. ISB-OneSh, Primescan, and ZZ strategy allowed the fastest scans. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The choice of ISB and IOS significantly affects the accuracy of complete-arch implant scans. The scan strategy did not impact trueness but influenced the efficiency. As an in vitro study, results observed need confirmation in the clinical settings.