ORTHODONTICS
Original Article
ARE DENTAL MEASUREMENTS TAKEN ON PLASTER CASTS COMPARABLE TO THOSE TAKEN FROM CBCT IMAGES AND LASER SCANNED SURFACES?
Luca Pisoni 1a, Marina Codari 2b, Simone Galli 1c, Francesca M. E. Rusconi 1d, Gianluca Martino Tartaglia 1e, Valentina Pucciarelli 1f, Chiarella Sforza 1g *
1
LAFAS, Laboratory of Functional Anatomy of the Stomatognathic System, Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
2
Unit of Radiology, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, Via Morandi 30, San Donato Milanese, 20097 Milan, Italy.
a, e
DDS, PhD b
MSBE, PhD c
CDT d
DDS f
MBiothec, PhD g
MD, PhD, Head
ABSTRACT DOI: 10.25241 / stomaeduj. 2018.5( 1). art. 4
Introduction: Intraoral scanning techniques, laser scans and cone-beam computed tomography( CBCT) are becoming widely diffused in dental practice. These instruments can replace dental plaster casts with digital models; recent investigations have found that measurements taken on digital models do not differ clinically from those obtained on CBCT scans and physical models, but only intra-examiner reliability has been assessed. In the current study we tested both intra- and inter-examiner variations, together with intertechniques reliability. Methodology: Data from six adult subjects were retrospectively obtained. Twelve dental distances were measured on dental plaster casts using a digital calliper; on digital 3D CBCT images using inVivoDental software( Anatomage, San Jose, CA); and on laser scanned surfaces using Mirror Vectra Software( Canfield Scientific, Fairfield, NJ). Two different operators performed all measurements twice. Bland-Altman analysis, Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon tests were used for comparisons. Results: The intra- and inter-operator biases range was 0-0.34 mm. The reproducibility range was 72-99 %. The three different techniques gave very similar measurements, with biases between ± 0.1 mm. Reproducibility ranged between 90 and 100 %; the best reproducibility coefficients were found between plaster and digital casts, and only three differences were larger than 0.5 mm. Calliper measurements slightly overestimated digital casts values. Only the mesiodistal distance of tooth 24( p = 0.002) was significantly different among techniques. Conclusion: Measurements on digital dental models and CBCT reconstructions of the dental arches seem clinically reliable as direct calliper measurements. The inter- and intra-operator reliabilities were acceptable, some more care may be needed for CBCT measurements. Keywords: teeth, laser scan, cone beam computerised tomography.
OPEN ACCESS This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license.
Peer-Reviewed Article
Citation: Pisoni L, Codari M, Galli S, Rusconi FME, Tartaglia GM, Pucciarelli V, Sforza C. Are dental measurements taken on plaster casts comparable to those taken from CBCT images and laser scanned surfaces? Stoma Edu J. 2018; 5( 1): 38-42.
Academic Editor: Lidia Boboc, DDS, PhD, Associate Professor,“ Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Bucharest, Romania
Received: December 23, 2017 Revised: February 09, 2018 Acccepted: March 01, 2018 Published: March 03, 2018
* Corresponding author: Professor Chiarella Sforza, MD, PhD, Head Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italyvia Mangiagalli 31, I-20133 Milano, Italy Tel: + 39 – 02 503 15385, Fax: + 39 – 02 503 15387, e-mail: chiarella. sforza @ unimi. it
Copyright: © 2018 the Editorial Council for the Stomatology Edu Journal.
1. Introduction New technologies like scanning techniques, conebeam computerised tomography( CBCT) and three dimensional imaging are becoming more and more used in all branches of dental practice( conservative, prosthodontics, surgery and orthodontics). Among the other applications, these devices can replace dental plaster casts with digital models possessing several advantages: easy storage, no necessary physical space, no damages during handling, and easy data share with other professionals [ 1-9 ]. CBCT, in particular, gives a 3D representation of the cranio-facial and dental structures and has already several indications in clinical routine: oral and maxillofacial surgery( orthognathic surgery, treatment of traumas and malignancies, nerve tracing in cases of third molar extraction and implant placement), endodontics( root fracture detection), orthodontics( diagnosis and treatment planning) [ 6, 10-15 ]. In this last field, several studies have successfully compared the accuracy of craniofacial measurements taken using landmarks identified on CBCT scans with those taken directly on skulls with conventional digital callipers [ 16, 17 ]. Safety, accuracy and reliability of measurements taken with new instruments must be evaluated and compared with those obtained with traditional methods also for dental landmarks: data obtained from both the digital and traditional plaster casts models must match in order to allow using the new technologies in clinical practice [ 2, 8, 18 ]. In general, recent investigations found that measurements taken on digital models do not differ clinically from those obtained on CBCT scans and physical models [ 4, 5 ]. Unfortunately, while reporting intra-examiner reliability, no inter-examiner variations were presented [ 6-8 ]. Indeed, the assessment of interoperator variations seems to be of relevance in the current scenario where dental technicians often work in centralised locations at distance from clinical offices, and several of them may be involved in the evaluation of the same dental reproductions. In the current study, we compared measurements taken on digital models obtained from CBCT images and laser scanned surfaces with direct measurements
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