Correlation between intraoral scanner and 3D confocal laser microscopy in early measurement of enamel loss due to dental erosion

This study aimed to investigate the correlation between the intraoral scanners and 3D confocal laser microscopy in the early detection of dental erosion. Enamel samples (n = 36) with a thickness of 1 mm and dimensions of 3 × 4 mm were attached to the labial surfaces of sound -extracted anterior teeth. The specimens were scanned using an intraoral scanner (Carestream 3700) and a 3D confocal microscope (Keyence VK-X100) at baseline. After protection of the reference area, the erosive wear was created using 1% citric acid (ph.: 2.7) with continuous agitation and followed with brushing for 2 min. At time points (1, 3 and 6 h), follow-up scans were made and superimposed with the baseline scans to measure the erosion using the tools of the software of the intraoral scanner, each specimen was also measured under the 3D confocal laser microscope, where the height difference between the eroded and reference halves was analyzed. The values obtained from the intraoral scanner and the 3D confocal laser microscope were statistically analyzed. Both methods could detect tissue loss after each acid immersion session, except for the intraoral scanner after the first hour of immersion; the loss values varied between both methods. The correlation was statistically significant at 6 h and a regression equation was obtained. An intraoral scanner was able to detect early dental erosion on flat enamel samples after 3 and 6 h of erosive acid challenge and the measurements obtained could be correlated to those obtained by the 3D confocal laser microscopy using the statistical equation.