Evaluation of the use of different intraoral scanners for auricular prosthetic reconstruction

J Prosthet Dent. 2023 Oct 27:S0022-3913(23)00642-X. doi: 10.1016/j.prosdent.2023.09.028. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Statement of problem: The use of intraoral optical scanners has been introduced for direct digital data acquisition in maxillofacial prosthetics, but their clinical accuracy has not been evaluated sufficiently.

Purpose: The purpose of this observational study was to evaluate the use of different intraoral scanners for extraoral maxillofacial digitization of an ear and to assess visually the clinical outcome of the generated 3-dimensional ear casts.

Material and methods: A selected intact ear was scanned by using 3 different intraoral optical scanners: CEREC Primescan (Dentsply Sirona), Medit i700 (Medit Corp) and Panda P2 (Pengtum Technologies). Three-dimensional printed auricular casts were fabricated from the obtained scans, and a questionnaire administered to assess visually the clinical outcome of the generated casts. Comparisons between scanners were done by using the Kruskal-Wallis test followed by the post hoc test with Bonferroni correction when results were significant. The Wilcoxon Sign Rank test was used to compare the responses of both the prosthodontists and the lay personnel. All tests were 2-tailed (α=.05).

Results: The 3-dimensional printed auricular casts fabricated from the data acquired by using Primescan and Medit i700 scanners showed a statistically significant difference in matching scores when compared with the Panda P2 scanner (P<.001).

Conclusions: Digital ear scanning with the Primescan and Medit i700 intraoral scanners should produce auricular prostheses that more closely match the normal ear when compared with those scanned by the Panda P2 scanner.