T-scans in implant procedures

Abstract

T scans are a breakthrough in technology which allows the user to accurately analyze the occlusion of a patient with minimal to zero errors. They are used during prosthodontic rehabilitation to map out the patient’s occlusion to plan for replacements. Such a high advancement in technology has a backdraw. The cost of the equipment is a concern for simple dental practitioners. There are no large scale studies using T scans in determining the occlusion. Therefore, it is of interest to analyze the use of T scans in determining the percentage of contact in patients with dental implants. This retrospective analysis was done at the Saveetha University hospital set up where patients undergoing prosthesis fabrication for implants were included. Details like their age, gender and the percentage of contact of the implant and percentage of contact on the adjacent tooth were recorded. These details were tabulated and imported to IBM SPSS version 23 for statistical analysis. Chi square test was used to analyze comparable variables. 22 patients were analyzed, the mean percentage of contact of implants was found to be 7.45±9.01 and the mean percentage of contact of adjacent teeth was found to be 10.14±6.7. Thus, T scan is an efficient method in recording the dynamic occlusal contacts of a patient. The use of T scan reveals data pertaining to individual tooth but in the present study there is no statistical significance in terms of exact values comparing implant contact to adjacent tooth contact. Further studies are needed with relation to timing and contact surface of implant prosthesis.