Influence of Scanning Strategy on the Accuracy of Digital Full-Arch Partially Edentulous Models

European Journal of Prosthodontics and Restorative Dentistry (2025) 33, 333–338

Digital Impression Digital Dentistry Intraoral Scanner Dental Radiology and Imaging

Carolina G. Gouveia *
Monikelly C. C. Nascimento*
Juliano M. Bueno * §
Mariana Q. S. Soares *
Ademir Franco ‡
Francine K. Panzarella *
José Luiz C. Junqueira *

Address for Correspondence

Influence of Scanning
Strategy on the Accuracy of
Digital Full-Arch Partially
Edentulous Models

Objective: To evaluate whether scanning strategies influence the accuracy of the full arch partially edentulous digital model in six intraoral scanner systems. Methods: Six intraoral scanner systems and four scanning strategies were tested. Results: For Scanner A, the deviations were significantly lower when strategy 3 (sextant) or 4 (sequential) were used than when strategy 2 was used (p<0.05). For scanner B, smaller deviations were observed in strategies 1 (interior/exterior) and 4 (sequential) than in strategy 2 (quadrant) (p<0.05). For scanner C, strategy 1 (interior/exterior) provided significantly smaller deviations than 3 (sextant) and 4 (sequential) (p<0.05). For the scanners D and E, there was no significant difference between the strategies regarding deviation (p>0.05). For the scanner F, the deviation was significantly lower with strategy 3 (sextant) than with strategies 1 (interior/exterior) and 4 (sequential) (p<0.05). Conclusions: The scanning strategy interferes with the accuracy of the scanner systems on full-arch partially edentulous models. No unanimous strategy in accuracy was observed, but rather strategies that best suit each scanner system. Clinical Relevance: This study highlights that no single strategy ensures optimal precision across all systems in partially edentulous patients, emphasizing the need for tailored scanning protocols to improve clinical outcomes in digital dentistry.

Monikelly C. C. Nascimento * Email: monikellyccn@gmail.com * Division of Oral Radiology, Faculdade São Leopoldo Mandic, Instituto de Pesquisas São Leopoldo Mandic, Campinas, São Paulo (SP), Brazil §

Department of Oral Radiology, Centro Integrado de Radiodontologia, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil

‡

Division of Forensic Dentistry, Faculdade São Leopoldo Mandic, Campinas, Brazil.

The popularity and availability of virtual technology in dentistry for replacing paper records with electronic ones are growing rapidly, with a move towards a “digital” patient for diagnosis, planning and monitoring of treatment progress and results1. Digital scans reduce treatment time, simplify clinical procedures for the dentist, eliminate the plaster models, enable better communication2 and result in greater patient comfort3. The available intraoral scanners, which utilize a freehand scanning strategy, differ in terms of accuracy2. Accuracy is the association between trueness and precision4. Trueness is defined as the amount of deviation of a test object from a reference object (“reference standard”)5. Precision represents the reproducibility of measurements, after consecutive scans4. Several factors influence the accuracy of intraoral scanning, including ambient lighting conditions6, operator experience1,7,8, the type of scanned substrate7, and the scanning strategy employed9.

Received: 04.02.2025 Accepted: 07.08.2025

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EJPRD