Digital Models for Orthodontic Purposes: a Systematic Review

Aim: The aim of our study was to conduct a systematic review about digital models accuracy and their reliability in orthodontic diagnosis. Materials and methods: The systematic search between January 2006 and April 2014 was performed in Pubmed, Pubmed Central, National Library of Medicine's Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Clinical trials, Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Google Scholar, LILACS. The exclusion criteria were: case reports, reviews, abstracts, author debates, summary articles, studies on animals. Results: In 35 relevant publication, 27 CCT and 8 RCT, digital models were compared to plaster models, dry skulls and cone-beam computed tomography. The results showed that there were no statistically significant differences among these methods and confirmed the interchangeability of these systems in the orthodontic practice. Interoperator variability for Bolton Index value of about 1.5 mm was clinically acceptable. Conclusions: The systematic review confirmed the intraoperator and interoperator reliability and reproducibility of virtual models. The analyzed articles showed digital models bring advantages in terms of costs, time, storing and tridimensional definition of tooth position, inclination and visualization of movement. Digital models can be considered an orthodontic diagnostic tool and they can substitute plaster casts in common orthodontics practice.