Effect of Material, Sterilization, and Repeated Use on the Deviations of PEEK and Titanium Monoblock Scanbodies.

OBJECTIVE

The study aimed to evaluate the effects of multiple sterilization cycles and repeated clinical use on the stability of monoblock titanium and PEEK scanbodies.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Ten monoblock titanium and PEEK scanbodies were paired up, thus forming a total of ten study groups. Each pair was scanned using an intraoral scanner to record a reference scan. Study groups underwent 30 cycles of tightening, loosening and sterilization, respectively. Scanning was performed after every five cycles, resulting in six study scans per group. Linear (∆X, ∆Y and ∆Z-axis), angular (∆ANGLE) and three-dimensional (Euclidean distance, ∆EUC) deviations were calculated and compared using two-way ANOVA test.

RESULTS

The number of repeated cycles was insignificant on scanbody deviations for both of the scanbody materials (p>0.05). The scanbody material had a significant impact, with titanium scanbodies demonstrating significantly higher deviations in ∆X, ∆Z and ∆EUC compared to PEEK scanbodies (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

PEEK scanbodies provided more accurate and more consistent digital scans than titanium.