A comparison of the accuracy of intraoral scanners using an intraoral environment simulator

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to design an intraoral environment simulator and to assess the accuracy of two intraoral scanners using the simulator. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A box-shaped intraoral environment simulator was designed to simulate two specific intraoral environments. The cast was scanned 10 times by Identica Blue (MEDIT, Seoul, South Korea), TRIOS (3Shape, Copenhagen, Denmark), and CS3500 (Carestream Dental, Georgia, USA) scanners in the two simulated groups. The distances between the left and right canines (D3), first molars (D6), second molars (D7), and the left canine and left second molar (D37) were measured. The distance data were analyzed by the Kruskal-Wallis test. RESULTS: The differences in intraoral environments were not statistically significant (P>.05). Between intraoral scanners, statistically significant differences (P<.05) were revealed by the Kruskal-Wallis test with regard to D3 and D6. CONCLUSION: No difference due to the intraoral environment was revealed. The simulator will contribute to the higher accuracy of intraoral scanners in the future.