Accuracy of an open-tray implant impression technique with 3 splinting materials: an in vitro study

This study compared the accuracy of impressions using 3 types of splinting materials: a pattern acrylic resin (Group 1), an acrylic resin (Group 2), and a dual-cured composite resin (Group 3). A total of 60 impressions (n = 20) were made. Implant positions were compared against the master model using a coordinate measuring machine with ANOVA comparison (P = 0.05). The minimum and maximum differences in the x axis were found in Groups 2 and 3, respectively. For the y axis, Groups 2 and 1 showed the minimum and maximum differences, respectively. The minimum and maximum differences in the z axis were found in Groups 3 and 1, respectively. All differences in the axes were statistically significant (P < 0.05). These findings indicated that the composite resin demonstrated better accuracy than the other tested splinting materials.