Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the influence of tooth location and inlay cavity type on the accuracy of intraoral digital impressions.

Methods Class II inlay preparation was performed on anatomical models of the maxillary first molar (16) and mandibular first molar (46). Mesio-occlusal and disto-occlusal cavities were prepared, such that the axial wall of the proximal box measured 1 mm or 2 mm in height. Thus, four types of inlay cavities were prepared in 16 and 46, respectively. Ten digital impressions of each cavity were obtained using Cerec Primescan (Sirona). Reference scans were obtained with a laboratory scanner (E3, 3Shape). All scan data were exported for comparative analysis of the three-dimensional models. Mean absolute deviation values were calculated to evaluate the trueness and precision of the digital models. Color-coded maps were used for the qualitative analysis of deviations.

Results The overall results showed that the trueness for 16 (10.43 ± 0.39 μm) was higher than that for 46 (12.42 ± 0.59 μm) (p < 0.05), while the precision was similar between 16 (3.08 ± 0.92 μm) and 46 (3.08 ± 0.76 μm). The cavity type affected the accuracy of the digital impressions. The highest deviation was observed in positive directions at the margins of the proximal boxes regardless of the cavity type.

Conclusions Tooth location and cavity type affected the accuracy of intraoral digital impressions. Positive deviations were observed at the margins of the proximal boxes.