Impact of color temperature and illuminance of ambient light conditions on the accuracy of complete-arch digital implant scans

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to assess the influence of color temperature and illuminance of ambient light on the accuracy of different intraoral scanners (IOSs) in complete-arch implant scans.

Methods: An edentulous model with six implants and scan bodies was digitized by using a laboratory scanner (DW-7-140; Dental Wings) to obtain a reference mesh. Fifteen scans were performed employing two intraoral scanners (Trios 4;3Shape A/S and i700; Medit Co) at two illuminances (500 and 1000 lux) and three color temperatures (3200, 4400, and 5600 K). Scanning accuracy was measured by using a 3D metrology software program (Geomagic Control X). Kruskal-Wallis, one-way ANOVA, and pairwise comparison tests were used to analyze the data (α = .05).

Results: Significant differences in trueness and precision values were found among the different IOSs under the same ambient lighting condition and among the different lighting conditions for a given IOS (p < .05) except for trueness in i700 groups (p > .05).

Conclusions: The influence on the accuracy of color temperature and illuminance varied depending on the intraoral scanner. An optimal ambient scanning light condition was not found; this should be adjusted based on the specific IOS system used. 3200 K of ambient light influences the precision of i700 when performed at 1000 lux, decreasing the accuracy. The variation of color temperature at the same illuminance does not affect the scanning accuracy of TRIOS 4, which obtained better accuracy in all scans at 1000 lux.