Comparative validation study demonstrates high measurement accuracy in digital dental models compared to plaster casts, suggesting digital models are clinically acceptable alternatives.
Key Points
To evaluate the accuracy, reproducibility, efficacy, and effectiveness of dental measurements obtained from computer-based digital models compared with traditional plaster casts and a dentoform standard.
Assessed systematic errors against a physical dentoform plastic model occlusion using repeated measures analysis of variance and Student's t-tests.
Calculated reproducibility and reliability for measurements made on digital and plaster casts using the intraclass correlation coefficient.
Only measurements of maxillary and mandibular space available on computer-based digital models differed significantly from the dentoform reference standard.
Measurements obtained from computer-based digital models exhibited significantly greater variance compared to those from traditional plaster models.
Reproducibility was high for both digital and plaster casts, yielding similar clinical efficacy and effectiveness without numerical effect sizes or intervals reported.