Precision of intraoral scanners in dentistry. Systematic Review

Abstract

Introduction.  A systematic review was carried out on the use of intraoral scanners in dentistry, collecting information about the precision of different brands within the market, knowing their advantages and disadvantages, and the clinical acceptance of professionals was analyzed when comparing them with conventional impressions. In addition, the application of digital flow applied in the different branches of dentistry was studied. Objective. The objective of this research was to carry out a review on the precision of intraoral scanners in dentistry, comparing scanners from different commercial companies, knowing their advantages and disadvantages, as well as knowing the clinical acceptance of professionals when using them compared to the use of conventional impressions and the digital flow applied in the different branches of dentistry, these with the aim of improving impression taking for dental preparations, generating a more effective and precise process than conventional impressions. Methodology.  A systematic review was carried out, based on the PRISMA methodology, a question was written based on the PICO technique, the search was carried out until September 2023 in the databases: Pubmed, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science, they were not applied date or language filters, the following information was extracted: author and year, journal, type of study, inclusion criteria, exclusion criteria, type of sample, age, sex, type of material, type of software, type of intraoral scanner and methodology. Results.  The application of intraoral scanners when used on printed models demonstrated clinically acceptable precision compared to measurements made with a caliper on plaster models with conventional impressions, however, the measurement method could affect the reproducibility of the measurements. Conclusion. It is important to establish a comparison with the conventional systems that have been used and known by all dentists, thus comparing the digital flow and its application in different areas as a tool on which we can rely to provide a better service to our patients.