A comparison of fixed prostheses generated from conventional vs digitally scanned dental impressions

For many years, mechanical and laser-based scanning technology has been used with computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing applications in the field of dentistry, but most have been limited to the dental laboratory. For the past 20 years, only 1 intraoral scanning device has been available to the dentist for in-office use. Recently, a new kind of intraoral scanning technology was introduced to the dental market. This technology, based on a laser scanning protocol called "parallel confocal," allows the dentist to take electronic impressions intraorally. This technology is coupled with traditional laboratory protocol for the construction of fixed dental restorations, providing the dentist with an accurate and efficient system to produce high-quality fixed dental restorations of all types. In a blind study, crowns developed using this technology were preferred over crowns generated using conventional impressions and criteria of marginal fit, contacts, occlusion, and time of adjustment in nearly 70% of cases. This article introduces scanning technology including a discussion of its clinical applications and an overview of the benefits.