Accuracy of four intraoral scanning devices and the effect of three different illuminance conditions

The objective of this study was to evaluate in vitro the accuracy of four intraoral scanners and the effect of three different illuminance conditions. A maxillary master cast was digitized with an extraoral scanner to get the reference STL file. The following four intraoral scanners were evaluated: TRIOS 3 (TR), CS 3600 (CS), Helios 600 (HS), and Virtuo Vivo (VV). Three groups were created under different light conditions: 500 lux, 1000 lux, and 6000 lux. Twelve scans were taken for each scanner, resulting in144 STL files in total. The accuracy was calculated with a metrology software. Statistical analysis was obtained by using a generalized linear model (GLM). A Two-Way ANOVA (scanners*light source) and Tukey’s post-hoc test (α=0.05) were conducted to compare the four scanners among three light conditions. VV showed the best trueness (29.16 ± 11.53 µm) and precision (28.95 ± 11.60 µm) for all illuminance conditions among the tested scanners. Significant differences in accuracy were found in TR when increasing illuminance. No statistical differences in accuracy were found for CS, HS and VV among all three light conditions. VV showed the best accuracy among all light sources and scanner types.