Digital impressions reduced clinical time for fabricating full-arch implant-supported prostheses suggests a new study published in the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry.
With the growing use of digital scanning, an evaluation of the clinical impact of digital scans versus conventional impressions in complete arch implant-supported prostheses is needed. However, systematic reviews on this subject are lacking.

The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the scanning and impression times and the radiographic marginal bone loss over time associated with digital scans and conventional impressions for complete arch implant-supported fixed prostheses.
Material and methods
The search was performed in MEDLINE/PubMed, SCOPUS, EMBASE, and Web of Science. Only randomized clinical trials (RCTs) comparing digital scans and conventional impressions for complete arch prostheses were included in the review. The scan and impression times and marginal bone loss were analyzed through random effects meta-analysis.
Results
Six RCTs were included. The meta-analysis was conducted by using a standardized mean difference (MD) and indicated a statistically significant reduction in time for the digital scan group compared with the conventional group (MD 10.01 [7.46, 12.55], P<.001, I²=80%). The fact that digital scans were used did not lead to significant differences in radiographic marginal bone loss compared with conventional impressions after 6 months (MD −0.03 [−0.14, 0.08], P=.58, I²=0%), after 12 months (MD −0.06 [−0.24, 0.12], P=.12, I²=45%), and after 24 months (MD −0.12 [−0.32, 0.09], P=.28, I²=58%).
Digital scans significantly reduced the time required compared with conventional impressions for complete arch implant-supported prostheses. Nevertheless, additional studies with more consistent methodologies are needed for confirmation. No significant differences were found in radiographic marginal bone loss between treatments performed with digital scans and conventional impressions.
Reference:
Clinical outcomes of digital scans versus conventional impressions for implant-supported fixed complete arch prostheses: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Isabella Neme Ribeiro dos Reis, Camila Nogueira Chamma-Wedemann, Ian Artoni de Oliveira Silva, Rubens Spin-Neto, Newton Sesma, Emily Vivianne Freitas da Silva. Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. Published:October 20, 2023DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prosdent.2023.09.023
Keywords:
Digital, impressions, reduced, clinical, time, fabricating, full-arch, implant-supported, prostheses, Isabella Neme Ribeiro dos Reis, Camila Nogueira Chamma-Wedemann, Ian Artoni de Oliveira Silva, Rubens Spin-Neto, Newton Sesma, Emily Vivianne Freitas da Silva, Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry