In Vivo Complete Arch Implant Impressions: Comparison of the Linear Precision of Digital and Conventional Techniques

BACKGROUND: The aims of this in vivo study were to determine which implant impression technique has the best in-mouth precision and to analyse whether the maxillary or mandibular position of the implants and the increase in the interimplant distance affect the precision. METHODS: A fully edentulous patient rehabilitated with 8 implants in each arch was included in this in vivo study. Five impressions per technique and arch were obtained using 6 impression techniques: closed tray (IT), unsplinted direct technique (UDT), acrylic resin-splinted direct technique (ASDT), metal-splinted direct technique (MSDT), stereophotogrammetry (PIC system), and intraoral scanning (Trios). Precision was evaluated by comparing 28 Euclidean interabutment distances per impression. A threshold of 75 μm was used as a reference value based on previously published implant misfit studies. RESULTS: Within the limitations of this study, the PIC system showed the highest precision among the evaluated techniques with 95% of the values