Smartphone photogrammetry – affordable alternative for digitizing dental casts

Objective: This article presents a simple and cost-effective protocol for digitizing dental casts using a smartphone and dedicated free software. Methods: A dental cast was digitized through photogrammetry using a smartphone and also with a laboratory scanner. The Root Mean Square (RMS) error was used to quantify the average deviation between the methods and to evaluate the accuracy of the digital models. Results: The comparison between the photogrammetry-generated cast and the same cast digitized with the laboratory scanner showed an RMS error ranging from 0.16 mm to 0.37 mm. The RMS error between three consecutive smartphone-based photogrammetry scans ranged from 0.16 mm to 0.35 mm. Conclusion: Smartphone-based photogrammetry enabled the digitization of the dental cast and its integration into the digital workflow for use in dental clinical planning.