A Technique for Digital Impression and Bite Registration for a Single Edentulous Arch

Area of Science:

• Dental Technology
• Prosthodontics
• Digital Dentistry

Background:

• Limited research exists on digital technology for impressions and bite registrations in edentulous patients.
• Traditional methods for edentulous impressions can be time-consuming and may lack precision.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a novel digitizing system for generating digital edentulous models with accurate jaw relationships.
• To evaluate the feasibility of intraoral digital scanning for edentulous impressions and virtual bite registration.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an intraoral scanner and a specialized scan retractor for direct digital impressions of edentulous jaws.
• Obtained virtual bite registration through optical scanning of the buccal surfaces at the occlusal vertical dimension.
• Employed the virtual bite registration as a reference for aligning the digital models of both jaws.

Main Results:

• Successfully generated digital edentulous models incorporating the jaw relationship.
• Demonstrated the capability of intraoral scanning for precise impression and bite registration in edentulous patients.
• The system facilitated accurate alignment of the maxillary and mandibular digital models.

Conclusions:

• Digital edentulous models with jaw relationships are clinically advantageous for complete denture fabrication.
• This digitizing system offers a promising advancement in digital prosthodontics for edentulous patients.
• The technology enhances accuracy and potentially streamlines the workflow for creating complete dentures.