CLINICAL ASPECTS OF RECORDING OCCLUSAL CONTACTS USING CONVENTIONAL METHODS AND INTRA-ORAL SCANNING

Aim of the study. The aim of the current study was to analyze and compare the registration of the occlusal contact points using three intraoral scanners and articulation paper. Material and methods. The static occlusal contact points in maximum intercuspation of ten subjects (3 women and 7 men), were analyzed using three different scanners: Cerec Omnicam (CEREC® Sirona, Germany), Medit i700 (MEDIT® Seoul, Republic of Korea), Trios 3 (3-SHAPE® Copenhagen, Denmark) and articulating paper 200 μm (Dr. Jean Bausch Gmbh & Co. KG, Germany). All the contact points obtained on each arch were counted and statistically evaluated. Results. The highest number of contacts was identified with Omnicam Scan (564 contact points) followed by the contacts obtained with occlusal paper (528 contact points). Contact obtained with Medit i700 were 483 and the fewest points of contact were identified with Trios 3 (477 contact points). However, no statistically significant difference was observed between the different types of examination (p> 0,005). Conclusions. Intraoral cameras represent a useful and reliable tool for the analysis of occlusal contact points. However, for the precise diagnosis and treatment of occlusal imbalance, a correlation between the conventional and digital methods of occlusal analysis may provide superior results.