Conventional vs. Digital Dental Impression

Dental impressions are an important part of routine diagnostic and therapeutic dental procedures. Using conventional impression materials, the dentist captures intraoral details, and the dental technician uses impression for dental casts pouring. Intraoral scanners (IOS) are fast, accurate and more pleasant for a patient than conventional impression techniques and became a valid alternative to those procedures. Thirty-four dental students performed alginate and digital impressions on each other and filled two two-part questionnaires to reveal their preferences and expectations from both techniques. The results showed a statistically significant difference in time needed for digital and conventional impressions, with digital being faster. From the patient's perspective, the digital scan was more pleasant than the conventional impression. The majority of participants thought digital techniques would completely replace conventional techniques during their lifetime and find it necessary to implement new technologies in dental schools' curricula.