Measurement of Tooth Wear by Means of Digital Impressions: An In-Vitro Evaluation of Three Intraoral Scanning Systems

Abstract

This in-vitro study aimed to investigate whether intraoral scanners (IOS) are suitable for wear measurement compared to optical profilometry (WLP). A zirconia cast representing the teeth (24–28) was fabricated. It was digitized six times using three different intraoral scanners, Cerec Omnicam AC (OC), Trios 3 (Tr3), and True Definition (TD). The scans were conducted at baseline (t0) and at three different stages of simulated wear (t1–t3), each at one wear-facet on FDI 26 and FDI 27. WLP was used as a reference method. Within each acquisition system, the maximum wear at each facet was analyzed by superimposing the STL data of t0 with t1–t3. A power analysis was performed (G*Power), and the Wilcoxon-signed-rank-test was used to evaluate whether there were statistically significant differences between the groups (Bonferroni corrected) (α = 0.05). At wear-facet FDI 27, differences from +4% t1 TD up to +19% t2 OC, corresponding to a metric value of 8 µm and 45 µm, were measured. At FDI 26 deviations between −2% t1 Tr3, and +10% OC and Tr3, were observed. Considering some limitations, the IOS are a promising alternative to wear measurement based on WLP due to its simple application to capture surface changes in a reasonable and quick way.