Introduction:

Intraoral scanners are devices that emerged as an alternative to conventional impression methods. A variety of studies have been conducted to evaluate the actual effectiveness of this technology and its clinical applicability.

Objective:

Analyze the results obtained by studies about intraoral scanners in the area of implantology in terms of types, accuracy, working time, and operator and patient preference.

Methods:

A search was conducted in the databases PubMed and SciELO using the following descriptors: “intraoral AND scanner AND implant”, “digital AND scanner AND implant” and “digital AND impression AND implant” in English, Portuguese and Spanish. The inclusion criteria were the following: clinical or laboratory papers evaluating the use of digital implant scanning technique, full access to the paper, written in Portuguese, English or Spanish and published as of the year 2013.

Data analysis and integration:

Of the 158 papers obtained and analyzed, 35 were selected: 28 laboratory and 7 clinical. Despite the limitations in the standardization of the studies, we perceive the potential and viability of the digital technique, with favorable clinical and accuracy results, as well as advantages such as a reduction in work time and stages, dynamic communication with laboratories, preference by patients and dental students and ease of technical incorporation by experienced dentists.

Conclusions:

Laboratory studies indicate that, in addition to the advantages concerning the use of impression materials, communication with laboratories and ease of manipulation, the digital technique may achieve better results than conventional impression techniques. The use of intraoral scanners is therefore a promising technique for the area of ​​implantology. However, further studies should be conducted, especially in vivo, to evaluate the consistency of the clinical results obtained.

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