Evaluating the accuracy of intraoral direct digital impressions in 2 infants with unilateral cleft lip and palate compared with digitized conventional impression

Introduction: Presurgical infant orthopedics was introduced as an interceptive approach for treating cleft lip and/or palate (CLP). This study aimed to evaluate the intraoral digital impression technique as a viable alternative to conventional impression in infants with unilateral CLP. Methods: Trios 3-Shape scanner (3Shape, Copenhagen, Denmark) was used for intraoral scanning of the infants' maxillary arches to provide a direct digital scan (DDS). In addition, conventional impressions of the same patients were taken in a hospital setting, and the resultant stone models were digitized using the same scanner to create an indirect digital scan (IDS). Both scans (DDS and IDS) were exported in stereolithography format, and the resultant stereolithography files were imported into computer-assisted-design software (Exocad DentalCAD; exocad GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany) for 3-dimensional surface model superimposition. Differences between the 2 surfaces were quantified in millimeters and visually displayed by a color map. Results: Three-dimensional sur face model superimposition of the DDS and IDS scans showed an excellent agreement between both approaches, in which differences ranged from 0.01 mm to 0.1 mm Conclusions: Intraoral direct digital impression in infants with unilateral CLP is a safe, accurate, and time-efficient technique, which can be a viable alternative to conventional impression. This will aid in overcoming the challenges and complications that are frequently associated with using conventional impressions in infants with unilateral CLP, thus reducing the burden of care not only on the patients' families but also on the care providers.