Accuracy of Remote Diagnoses Using Intraoral Scans Captured in Approximate True Color: A Validation Study in Teledentistry

Abstract

Background: Intraoral scans provide three-dimensional images with approximate true colors, representing possible tool in teledentistry for remote screening.Aim: To evaluate the levels of agreement between scorings derived from intraoral scans (IOS) and scorings derived from clinical examinations for assessing dental and periodontal conditions. Material and Methods: The sample included 10 patients in need of a restorative treatment. Following an intraoral scan, a full-mouth dental and periodontal examination was performed and periapical radiographs were taken. The intraoral scans were transmitted from the intraoral scanner to a cloud server. Ten examiners were asked to perform dental and periodontal assessments solely based on the intraoral scans. The scans were presented to the examiners on a tablet computer using the IOS-specific viewer app. Thereafter, the periapical radiographs were added and the examiners asked to do provide a second round of assessments. The remote scoring was compared to the clinical scoring derived from the clinical examination. The time for the remote assessment was recorded. The agreement between remote and clinical scorings was then analyzed descriptively.Results: Conclusion: The remote screening was effective in detecting patients in need for a clinical examination and was time-efficient. Further improvement of the image quality of intraoral scans may allow increasing the accuracy of remote assessments.