Effectiveness of Digital Versus Conventional Impression on Discomfort and Dental Anxiety in Preschool Children (Randomised Controlled Clinical Trial)

BACKGROUND: Alginate impressions are often distressing for preschoolers and challenging for those with gag reflexes, making intraoral scanners a preferable alternative. AIM: To assess and compare discomfort, dental anxiety, behaviour, and procedure time between intraoral scanning and alginate impressions in preschoolers. DESIGN: Sixty-six children aged 4-6 years were randomly allocated into two equal groups: digital impressions using an intraoral scanner (Group I) or conventional alginate impressions (Group II). Discomfort was assessed by the operator using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and by children using a modified emoji-based VAS. Dental anxiety was measured using the Facial Image Scale (FIS), behaviour using Venham's Behaviour Rating Scale (VBRS), and procedure time was recorded with a digital stopwatch. RESULTS: The digital impression group experienced significantly lower discomfort scores (p < 0.001), more cooperative behaviour (p = 0.025), and shorter procedure time (p < 0.001) compared with the conventional impression group. No statistically significant difference in dental anxiety was observed before and after digital scanning (p = 0.257), nor before and after alginate impression taking (p = 0.065). CONCLUSION: Intraoral scanners appear to offer a more comfortable and quicker alternative for dental impressions in cooperative preschool children at their first dental visit, leading to better behavioural outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT06623851.