ADAPTATION OF COMPOSITE CAD/CAM INLAYS FABRICATED BY DIFFERENT METHODS: AN IN VITRO MICRO-CT STUDY

Purpose: Indirect restorations can be performed using different impression techniques (conventional, laboratory, or intraoral scanners). Their accuracy determined their longevity. This study compares the marginal and internal adaptation of milled CAD/CAM composite inlays fabricated by conventional, hybrid, and digital methods. Material and methods: Thirty human premolars were prepared for MOD composite inlays(CI). They were divided into three equal groups depending on the process of fabrication: Group 1 (conventional group)— impression and laboratory-fabricated CI, Group 2 (hybrid group)— impression, laboratory scanner and milled CAD/CAM CI, and Group 3(digital group)— digital impression (intraoral scanner) and milled CAD/CAM CI. The marginal gap (MG), absolute marginal discrepancy (AMD), and internal gap (IG) were measured at 120 different points per CI using X‐ray microtomography. The data were analyzed using Kolmogorov–Smirnov and Mann–Whitney U tests. Results: The conventional and digital composite inlays present significantly smaller marginal and internal gaps than the CAD/CAM group manufactured by hybrid methods. Conclusions: Within the limitations of this in vitro study, we concluded that the CAD-CAM composite inlays fabricated by digital method exhibited statistically better marginal and internal adaptation results than composite CAD-CAM inlays by hybrid methods. The composite CAD-CAM inlays made by digital methods are an alternative to those made by a conventional methodology.