Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 6, 2025
Accuracy in Dental Medicine, A New Way to Measure Trueness and Precision
Published on: April 29, 2014
Comparison accuracy of digital and analog method using milled occlusal splints
Álvaro Blasi1,2, Víctor Henarejos-Domingo2, Ricardo Palacios-Bañuelos2
1Department of Restorative Sciences, Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia, USA.
Objective:
This clinical trial aims to compare the accuracy of interocclusal registration in centric relation taken with polyvinyl siloxane and intraoral scanner (IOS) with the fabrication of occlusal devices.
Methods:
Thirty-one participants were included in the trial registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05317182) receiving two different occlusal devices from two different workflows. One workflow was performed using polyvinyl siloxane impression material and the other with IOS. Every splint was scanned before and after the occlusal adjustments to compare the volumetric changes using the Root Mean Square deviation (RMS). Furthermore, three evaluators assessed the 3D comparison using color maps in a Visual Analog Scale (VAS).
Results:
The average values of RMS were higher for the analog approach (0.01 ± 0.067) than the digital approach (0.065 ± 0.035). However, the differences were not statistically significant (p < 0.063) between the two impression techniques. For the semiquantitative analysis performed by blinded evaluators, differences in VAS values between the impression for the digital (2.08 ± 2.4) and analog (3.80 ± 3.3) technique were statistically significant. The three evaluators agreed in more than 90% of the qualitative dichotomous evaluation.
Conclusion:
Digital impressions did not show inferior accuracy compared to conventional impressions when assessed using quantitative measurements.
Clinical Significance:
This clinical trial provided evidence on registering interocclusal relationship at increased vertical dimension with fully digital workflow for complete arch prosthesis.
