Intraoral scanning of neonates and infants with craniofacial disorders: feasibility, scanning duration, and clinical experience

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate intraoral scanning (IOS) in infants, neonates, and small children with craniofacial anomalies for its feasibility, scanning duration, and success rate. Impression taking in vulnerable patients can be potentially life-threatening, with the risk of airway obstruction and aspiration of impression material. The advantage of increasingly digitalized dentistry is demonstrated.

Materials and methods: IOS was captured with the Trios 3® (3Shape, Copenhagen, Denmark) intraoral scanner. The underlying disorders were divided into cleft lip and palate (CLP), Trisomy 21 (T21), Robin Sequence (RS), Treacher Collins syndrome (TC), and isolated mandibular retrognathia (MR). Scan data were analysed by scanning duration, number of images, possible correlations of these factors with the different craniofacial disorders, patient age, and relationship between first and subsequent scans. Clinical experiences with the repeated digital impressions are described.

Results: Patient data of 141 scans in 83 patients were analysed within an 11-month period. Patients had a median age of 137 days. Median scanning duration was 138 seconds, resulting in a median of 352 images. There was a statistically significant difference in scanning duration (P = 0.001) between infants and neonates. IOS took longest in patients with CLP (537 seconds) and shortest in T21 patients (21 seconds), although there was no statistically significant difference between aetiologies. There was no statistically significant difference between first and subsequent scans in scanning duration. In four cases the IOS had to be repeated, and one patient ultimately required conventional impression taking (all CLP patients; success rate 94%). No severe adverse events occurred.

Conclusion: IOS is a fast, safe, and feasible procedure for neonates, small children, and infants with craniofacial malformations. One special challenge for both technician and user was identified in patients with CLP, though implementing this new approach of digital impression taking was otherwise found to be highly successful in everyday clinical routine.