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Consistency of Intraoral-Scanner-Derived Occlusal Contact Distance Maps Between Centric Relation and Maximal
Dubravka Knezović Zlatarić1, Maja Žagar1
1Department of Removable Prosthodontics, School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Gundulićeva 5, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
Dentistry Journal
|April 27, 2026
Summary
Intraoral scanners provide similar occlusal contact distance visualizations for maximal intercuspation and centric relation positions. This indicates digital bite registration accuracy for evaluating occlusal contact patterns.
Area of Science:
- Dentistry
- Digital Odontology
- Biomedical Imaging
Background:
- Intraoral scanners (IOSs) are vital for digital occlusal evaluation.
- Interpreting IOS-derived occlusal contact distance visualizations is affected by registration and alignment.
- Controlled scanning conditions are crucial for accurate IOS data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare occlusal contact distance distributions from IOS between maximal intercuspation (MIP) and centric relation (CR).
- To assess the reliability of IOS for occlusal analysis under standardized conditions.
Main Methods:
- Fifteen participants underwent standardized digital bite registration in MIP and CR.
- Scans with interocclusal overlap ≤ 0.1 mm were analyzed.
- Occlusal contact distance maps were quantified using image segmentation; paired statistical analyses compared CR and MIP distributions.
Main Results:
- No statistically significant differences in occlusal contact distance category distributions were found between CR and MIP (p > 0.05).
- Very close contact distances were consistently low (6-9%), with moderate and distant contacts predominating.
- Comparable distance-based occlusal visualization patterns were observed under controlled acquisition.
Conclusions:
- IOS-derived occlusal contact distance maps show similar patterns for CR and MIP under controlled conditions.
- IOS can be used for comparative evaluation of occlusal contact distance distributions.
- Interpretation of IOS visualizations requires awareness of methodological and technical limitations.
