Agreement of the Discrepancy Index Obtained Using Digital and Manual Techniques—A Comparative Study

Abstract

The discrepancy index evaluates the complexity of the initial orthodontic diagnosis. The objective is to compare whether there is a difference in the final discrepancy index score of the American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) when obtained using digital and manual techniques. Fifty-six initial orthodontic records in a digital and physical format were included (28 each) in 2022 at the Center for Research and Advanced Studies in Dentistry. For the digital measurements, iTero and TRIOS 3 intraoral scanners were used, along with Insignia software and cephalometric tracing with Dolphin Imaging software. Manual measurements were obtained in dental casts using the ruler indicated for the previously mentioned discrepancy index, in addition to conventional cephalometric tracing. Student’s t-test did not show statistically significant differences between the digital and manual techniques, with final discrepancy index scores of 24.61 (13.34) and 24.86 (14.14), respectively (p = 0.769). Cohen’s kappa index showed very good agreement between both categorical measurements (kappa value = 1.00, p = 0.001). The Bland–Altman method demonstrated a good agreement between continuous measurements obtained by both techniques with a bias of 0.2500 (superior limit of agreement =9.0092988, inferior limit of agreement = −8.5092988). Excellent agreement was observed in obtaining the discrepancy index through digital technique (Intraoral scanning and digital records) and manual technique (conventional records).

Fotogrametría de modelos dentales de yeso

“…Se usaron estas distancias porque son de interés odontológico, objetivas, posibles de replicar y además han sido reportadas en estudios similares (1,5,6,9,10) .…”

“…17 El set fotográfico incluyó un posicionador tanto para los modelos como para la cámara, que permitieron generar una relación perpendicular entre la cámara y el modelo dental de yeso. Se han utilizado dispositivos similares en estudios anteriores (1,8,11) .…”

“…El análisis de modelos dentales de yeso es considerado una parte esencial del tratamiento odontológico (1)(2)(3)(4) . Son usados para evaluar la oclusión y realizar mediciones de manera más fácil y precisa que en la boca del paciente (2) .…”

“…Malik et al (5) plantean que, si se logra obtener la misma información de los modelos de yeso, pero de manera digital, entonces se eliminan los problemas de espacio, costo de almacenamiento y riesgo de daños, otorgando además la posibilidad de compartir registros digitales con otros profesionales (1) .…”

“…(1); 24-26, 2024 DOI: 10.4067/S2452-55882024000100024 ORCID Nicolás Páez-Covarrubias: ORCID: 0009-0006-0725-1269 Manuel Zura: ORCID: 0009-0007-6702-0240 Oscar Norambuena-Lama: ORCID: 0009-0000-4817-9247 Cristian Vergara-Núñez: ORCID: 0000-0002-9895-8238…”