The Effect of Surface Treatment of Titanium Implant Abutments on the Accuracy of Digital Scanning. An Invitro Study.

Abstract:
Introduction:
Conventionally speaking, materials such as irreversible hydrocolloids or elastomers, provided good precision in conventional implant impression procedures. However, impression deformation and plaster cast expansion, affect the final restorative outcome. In the current digital revolution, digital impressions using intraoral scanners have nearly overcome the drastic draw backs of conventional impressions and patient discomfort.
Yet still intraoral scanning does posses’ challenges, especially where there are variations in different scanned morphologies, surface roughness and materials, which result in irregular scattering of light, consequently distorting the data collected.


Materials and methods: Using (Exocad Dental CAD) software a custom designed abutment, was designed to simulate a conventional abutment. and sent to a titanium milling machine where three manufactured abutments were produced, only two of the abutments were surface treated (optically sprayed and sand blasted) and all was scanned. Intra oral scanner was used and the scanned data was overlapped on the original digitally designed abutment, and the differences measured in millimeters as root mean square.

Results: Anova test shows statistically significant difference between the three studied group with P. Value of .001*
Post hoc multiple comparison test shows statistically significant difference between studied groups except there was no statistically significant difference between sandblasted and scan spray abutment with P. value of .111

Conclusion: The application of scanning powder and sand blast roughening on metallic implant abutments, enhances scanning data collection, as to opposed to powder- free scanning of the implant metallic abutments.