Construction reproducibility of a composite tooth model composed of an intraoral-scanned crown and a cone-beam computed tomography-scanned root.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the construction reproducibility of a composite tooth model (CTM) composed of an intraoral-scanned crown and a cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT)-scanned root.

Methods: The study assessed 240 teeth (30 central incisors, 30 canines, 30 second premolars, and 30 first molars in the maxillary and mandibular arches) from 15 young adult patients whose pre-treatment intraoral scan and CBCT were available. Examiner-Reference (3 years' experience in CTM construction) and Examiners-A and Examiner-B (no experience) constructed the individual CTMs independently by performing the following steps: image acquisition and processing into a three-dimensional model, integration of intraoral-scanned crowns and CBCT-scanned teeth, and replacement of the CBCT-scanned crown with the intraoral-scanned crown. The tooth axis angle in terms of mesiodistal angulation and buccolingual inclination of the CTMs constructed by the three examiners were measured. To assess the construction reproducibility of CTMs, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) assessments were performed.

Results: The ICC values of mesiodistal angulation and buccolingual inclination among the 3 examiners showed excellent agreement (0.950-0.992 and 0.965-0.993; 0.976-0.994 and 0.973-0.995 in the maxillary and mandibular arches, respectively).

Conclusions: The CTM showed excellent construction reproducibility in mesiodistal angulation and buccolingual inclination regardless of the construction skill and experience levels of the examiners.