Congruence between Meshes and Library Files of Implant Scanbodies: An In Vitro Study Comparing Five Intraoral Scanners

Purpose. To compare the reliability of five different intraoral scanners (IOSs) in the capture of implant scanbodies (SBs) and to verify the dimensional congruence between the meshes (MEs) of the SBs and the corresponding library file (LF). Methods. A gypsum cast of a fully edentulous maxilla with six implant analogues and SBs screwed on was scanned with five different IOSs (PRIMESCAN(®), CS 3700(®), MEDIT i-500(®), ITERO ELEMENTS 5D(®), and Emerald S(®)). Ten scans were taken for each IOS. The resulting MEs were imported to reverse engineering software for 3D analysis, consisting of the superimposition of the SB LF onto each SB ME. Then, a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the deviations between MEs and LF was performed. A careful statistical analysis was performed. Results. PRIMESCAN(®) showed the highest congruence between SB MEs and LF, with the lowest mean absolute deviation (25.5 ± 5.0 μm), immediately followed by CS 3700(®) (27.0 ± 4.3 μm); the difference between them was not significant (p = 0.1235). PRIMESCAN(®) showed a significantly higher congruence than MEDIT i-500(®) (29.8 ± 4.8 μm, p < 0.0001), ITERO ELEMENTS 5D(®) (34.2 ± 9.3 μm, p < 0.0001), and Emerald S(®) (38.3 ± 7.8 μm, p < 0.0001). CS 3700(®) had a significantly higher congruence than MEDIT i-500(®) (p = 0.0004), ITERO ELEMENTS 5D(®) (p < 0.0001), and Emerald S(®) (p < 0.0001). Significant differences were also found between MEDIT i-500(®) and ITERO ELEMENTS 5D(®) (p < 0.0001), MEDIT i-500(®) and Emerald S(®) (p < 0.0001), and ITERO ELEMENTS 5D(®) and Emerald S(®) (p < 0.0001). Significant differences were found among different SBs when scanned with the same IOS. The deviations of the IOSs showed different directions and patterns. With PRIMESCAN(®), ITERO ELEMENTS 5D(®), and Emerald S(®), the MEs were included inside the LF; with CS 3700(®), the LF was included in the MEs. MEDIT i-500(®) showed interpolation between the MEs and LF, with no clear direction for the deviation. Conclusions. Statistically different levels of congruence were found between the SB MEs and the corresponding LF when using different IOSs. Significant differences were also found between different SBs when scanned with the same IOS. Finally, the qualitative evaluation revealed different directions and patterns for the five IOSs.