Post Title

The use of conventional scan bodies (SBs) with an intraoral scanner (IOS) to capture the position of a complete arch of dental implants has been proven to be challenging. The literature is unclear as to the accuracy of intraoral scanning techniques using SBs that are connected vertically to multi-unit abutments (MUAs) for numerous adjacent implants in the same arch.1 Recently, there has been a paradigm shift from vertical SBs to horizontal SBs which are positioned perpendicular to the long axis of the MUAs. Most IOSs available today can capture these horizontal SBs, called scan gauges (SGs), with better accuracy and consequently acquire the position of multiple adjacent implants using an effective scan path, reducing stitching and the number of images necessary. The key to implementing this novel technology is to strategically arrange the scan gauges to optimize horizontal overlap of multiple adjacent SGs without touching each other. By superimposing two high resolution intraoral scans of the SGs, an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm is employed to produce a calibrated digital best-fit model on which a passive complete-arch prosthesis can be designed and then fabricated. The advantages and disadvantages of SBs and SGs will be discussed, and a case report will be presented using a digital workflow.