Patient Comfort Assessment of Intraoral Scanners

Aim: This clinical study aimed to assess the comfort level between two intraoral scanners by comparing satisfaction scores from 30 patients who underwent full arch scans of their upper and lower jaws. Materials and Method: A total of 30 participants, consisting of two groups who had received bleaching treatment by a dentist in the last 6 months (n=15) and who never had a bleaching treatment before (n=15), were examined using two scanners with different designs and features (Trios 3, 3Shape, Denmark; CEREC Omnicam, Dentsply Sirona, Germany). Upper and lower jaw scans were conducted by a single clinician with 4 years of clinical experience, simultaneously on two consecutive days with a 24-hour interval, under identical clinical conditions. After completing intraoral scans, participants scored for scanners in a 6-parameter comfort questionnaire based on a 5-point Likert satisfaction scale (5: very satisfied, 1: very dissatisfied). The comfort parameters were: 1-lingual discomfort, 2-buccal discomfort, 3-tooth discomfort, 4-mouth opening discomfort, 5-scanning time, and 6-general satisfaction. Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for statistical analysis. The significance level was set at p0.050). Likewise, no significant differences were found for any parameter between participants who had received bleaching treatment and those who had not (p>0.050). Conclusion: The different scanner designs or features of intraoral scanners with constantly developing technologies do not affect patient comfort.