Geometric assessment of imaging methods for complete denture form: Comparisons among cone-beam computed tomography,...

The present study aimed to examine three methods for imaging a complete denture form and to discuss the geometric assessment and availability of these methods.

Three methods were used: cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), desktop dental scanning (DDS), and handheld optical scanning (HOS). Three sides of a cuboid resin block of a known size were measured on the captured images. Ten upper and lower complete dentures were digitized using each of the three methods. The denture forms in the standard triangulated language format were reconstructed using the computer aided design software with three resolutions: 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0. The two images were superimposed through a least-square algorithm, and the mean differences were examined among the three types of imaging methods and resolutions.

The smallest mean differences and variations were obtained for CBCT and DDS, followed by HOS in the experiment using resin block. The lengths of longitudinal and horizontal sides were shortened in CBCT and DDS, whereas the height was shortened in HOS. The variations in each direction were very small by repetitive imaging within every imaging method. The difference between the CBCT and DDS was significantly smaller than that in the other two groups in experiment using actual dentures. The influence of resolution was comparatively low.

The results suggested that CBCT and DDS had a similar geometric assessment, but that of the HOS was lower.