Accuracy of printed models obtained from intraoral scanning

Objectives: To compare the accuracy of two methods for the manufacturing of physical models: I) intraoral scanning and resin-printed models; and II) addition silicone impression and gypsum model. Materials and methods: A dental manikin was used as the master model and compared with five gypsum models (g1) and five resin printed models (g2) by analyzing linear measurements at four sites (M1, M2, M3, and M4) using an image measuring instrument. The mean values of the experimental models were compared to those of the master model using one-sample t-test. The samples of each group at the same site were compared with an independent t-test. For all tests, a significance level of 5% (0.05) was considered. Results: The confidence intervals from M1, M2, and M4 sites for both gypsum and resin models presented statistically lower linear distance when compared to the reference values. At m3, the mean value for the gypsum models was not statistically different from the reference mean value (p > 0.05); however, resin-printed models presented a statistically different mean value (p < 0.05), as well as lower values of linear distance. Conclusions: When compared to gypsum models, resin- printed models differed greatly from the master model, indicating the need for standardizing the printing protocol, for its variables may influence printed models accuracy.