title: Comparison of the accuracy of a 3-dimensional virtual method and the conventional method for transferring the maxillary cast to a virtual articulator.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The currently available virtual articulators fail to locate the digitized maxillary cast at the exact position in the virtual environment. Some locate the casts on a mechanical articulator with a facebow, and this position is then digitized for the virtual environment.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to compare the location of the maxillary cast on an articulator by using 2 different procedures: the conventional method and a virtual method.
  
  
  METHODS
  With the conventional procedure, the kinematic axis of the participant was determined with an axiograph. The location of the maxillary cast in reference to this axis was then physically transferred to a Panadent mechanical articulator. By a virtual procedure, the same kinematic axis and the maxillary cast were transferred directly from the participant to the Panadent virtual articulator by means of reverse engineering devices. The locations obtained with both procedures were compared in a virtual environment with an optical scanner. By calculating the deviation at every point of the occlusal surface, the results obtained with this procedure were then compared with those of the conventional method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean deviation on the occlusal surface was 0.752 mm, and the standard deviation was 0.456 mm.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The deviation between the procedures was sufficiently small to allow the methodology for orthodontic purposes. However, the accuracy of the virtual procedure should be improved so as to extend its use to other fields, such as orthognathic surgery or dental restorations, in which the clinical technique requires an articulator.
authors.affiliation: Researcher, Department of Graphic Design and Engineering Projects, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Bilbao, Spain. Electronic address: eneko.solaberrieta@ehu.es.
authors.forename: Eneko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Solaberrieta
authors.affiliation: Researcher, Department of Graphic Design and Engineering Projects, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Bilbao, Spain.
authors.forename: Rikardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mínguez
authors.affiliation: Researcher, Department of Graphic Design and Engineering Projects, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Bilbao, Spain.
authors.forename: Lander
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barrenetxea
authors.affiliation: Researcher, Department of Graphic Design and Engineering Projects, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Bilbao, Spain.
authors.forename: Jose Ramon
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Otegi
authors.affiliation: Researcher, Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany.
authors.forename: András
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Szentpétery
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D003725:Dental Articulators / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003766:Dental Occlusion; D003768:Dental Occlusion, Centric; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007574:Jaw Relation Record / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008297:Male; D008437:Maxilla / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D003765:Models, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D061848:Optical Imaging / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014584:User-Computer Interface