Concordance Between the Occlusal Contacts Record Obtained Using an Intraoral Scanner and Carbon Paper

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the reliability of the registration of occlusal contacts through intraoral scanning in comparison with those obtained with the aid of carbon paper. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The occlusal registration was obtained at the beginning of the orthodontic treatment of 35 patients (23 men and 12 women), aged 15 to 30 years. All patients were scanned with iTero Element (Align Technology, CA, USA), occlusal records were also performed with carbon paper (AccuFilm - 8 μm, USA) and recorded in occlusograms. To verify the agreement between the two methods, the percentages of agreement and disagreement and kappa statistics were applied. RESULTS: There was poor agreement between occlusal contacts recorded by intraoral scanning and those obtained with carbon paper in most of the sample (Kappa value 0.07 to 0.20). Most contacts were registered in the posterior region. It seems that the contacts registered as intense in the iTero, correspond to the contacts with the carbon paper. CONCLUSIONS: The occlusal records by means of scanning and carbon paper presented poor agreement, but the association of both methods is indicated for the correct registration of the occlusion.