Metrological Analysis of the Trueness of Prosthetic Metal Structures Obtained with Digital Methods

Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate of the accuracy and trueness of 24 Co-Cr alloy copings obtained through four digital methods in order to obtain the validation and compare the results of two dental dedicated measurement software.

Material and Methods: In this study, we analyzed 24 crowns made of Cobalt-Chrome using 4 different techniques to obtain the finished piece. The prosthetic pieces had the same design and were divided into 4 study groups (6 per group) depending on the method of obtaining as follows: R- resin, W- wax, M- milling, S- sintering. Each STL file of each crown was superimposed using the alignment functions of both the Medit Crown Fit program and the Meshmixer alignment functions in order to quantify the accuracy by analyzing the deviation from the design.

Results: In total, over 6,720 references were generated, with approximately 280 images per layer. The results suggest that both software are capable of producing similar results in terms of deviation from design. The differences are below 0.01 mm, so they can be considered insignificant from a practical point of view. This confirms that both methods are eloquent in evaluating thicknesses regardless of the material.

Conclusions: The measurement module integrated into 3D dental data allows for the precise quantification of various dental parameters, including interdental distances, angles, lengths and surfaces. This functionality is extremely valuable for prosthetic restorations, dental sizing and occlusion analysis, providing essential information for dental treatment planning.