Research Article

Trueness and Precision of Conventional vs Digital Impressions in a Kennedy Class III Case

Volume: 12 Number: 2 August 29, 2026
TR EN

Trueness and Precision of Conventional vs Digital Impressions in a Kennedy Class III Case

Abstract

Objectives: This study compared the trueness and precision of conventional alginate impressions (metal tray and custom tray) and a digital impression method in a Kennedy Class III partially edentulous model. 

Materials and Methods: A reference model was obtained from a polyether impression and Type III stone cast and scanned to generate reference STL data. Thirty-six impressions were allocated to three groups (n=12): metal tray alginate, custom tray alginate, and digital intraoral scanning. Test STL files were superimposed onto the reference STL, and RMS deviations were calculated for the edentulous area, teeth, palate, and whole arch. Trueness was defined as deviation from the reference model, and precision as within-group repeatability. Data were analyzed using Welch ANOVA/Games-Howell or Kruskal-Wallis/Dunn tests (α=0.05). 

Results: No significant difference in trueness was found for the edentulous area (P=0.077). Significant differences were observed for teeth (P<0.001), palate (P=0.029), and whole arch (P=0.011); the digital method showed the highest deviations for teeth and whole arch but the lowest for the palate. For precision, the digital method showed significantly lower deviations in the edentulous area (P=0.004), teeth (P<0.001), and palate (P=0.046), while no difference was found for the whole arch (P=0.172). 

Conclusion: The digital method demonstrated trueness comparable to conventional techniques in the edentulous area and superior precision in most regions, supporting its use for Kennedy Class III removable prosthodontic applications despite reduced trueness in tooth-bearing and whole-arch regions.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Ethical Statement

This clinical study was conducted at the Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Istanbul University. The study protocol was approved by the Istanbul University Faculty of Dentistry Clinical Research Ethics Committee (Approval No: 2026/09; Approval Date: February 3, 2026). Written informed consent was obtained from the volunteer participant prior to enrollment in the study.

Thanks

None.

References

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  3. Rosenstiel S, Land M, Fujimoto J. Contemporary fixed prosthodontics. 5th ed. St. Louis (MO): Elsevier; 2016.
  4. Carr AB, Brown DT. McCracken's removable partial prosthodontics. 13th ed. St. Louis (MO): Elsevier; 2016.
  5. Phoenix R, Cagna D, DeFreest C. Stewart's clinical removable partial prosthodontics. 4th ed. Chicago: Quintessence Publishing; 2008.
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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Prosthodontics

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

August 29, 2026

Submission Date

June 24, 2026

Acceptance Date

August 5, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 12 Number: 2

APA
Polat, D., Aktosun, A., Saygılı, S., & Sülün, T. (2026). Trueness and Precision of Conventional vs Digital Impressions in a Kennedy Class III Case. Aydın Dental Journal, 12(2), 123-131. https://izlik.org/JA67FS35XD
AMA
1.Polat D, Aktosun A, Saygılı S, Sülün T. Trueness and Precision of Conventional vs Digital Impressions in a Kennedy Class III Case. Aydin Dental Journal. 2026;12(2):123-131. https://izlik.org/JA67FS35XD
Chicago
Polat, Dila, Alper Aktosun, Sina Saygılı, and Tonguç Sülün. 2026. “Trueness and Precision of Conventional Vs Digital Impressions in a Kennedy Class III Case”. Aydın Dental Journal 12 (2): 123-31. https://izlik.org/JA67FS35XD.
EndNote
Polat D, Aktosun A, Saygılı S, Sülün T (August 1, 2026) Trueness and Precision of Conventional vs Digital Impressions in a Kennedy Class III Case. Aydın Dental Journal 12 2 123–131.
IEEE
[1]D. Polat, A. Aktosun, S. Saygılı, and T. Sülün, “Trueness and Precision of Conventional vs Digital Impressions in a Kennedy Class III Case”, Aydin Dental Journal, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 123–131, Aug. 2026, [Online]. Available: https://izlik.org/JA67FS35XD
ISNAD
Polat, Dila - Aktosun, Alper - Saygılı, Sina - Sülün, Tonguç. “Trueness and Precision of Conventional Vs Digital Impressions in a Kennedy Class III Case”. Aydın Dental Journal 12/2 (August 1, 2026): 123-131. https://izlik.org/JA67FS35XD.
JAMA
1.Polat D, Aktosun A, Saygılı S, Sülün T. Trueness and Precision of Conventional vs Digital Impressions in a Kennedy Class III Case. Aydin Dental Journal. 2026;12:123–131.
MLA
Polat, Dila, et al. “Trueness and Precision of Conventional Vs Digital Impressions in a Kennedy Class III Case”. Aydın Dental Journal, vol. 12, no. 2, Aug. 2026, pp. 123-31, https://izlik.org/JA67FS35XD.
Vancouver
1.Dila Polat, Alper Aktosun, Sina Saygılı, Tonguç Sülün. Trueness and Precision of Conventional vs Digital Impressions in a Kennedy Class III Case. Aydin Dental Journal [Internet]. 2026 Aug. 1;12(2):123-31. Available from: https://izlik.org/JA67FS35XD

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