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The New Standard for Accuracy in Digital Implant Workflows
This article was developed by the ICam Clinical Education Team in collaboration with full-arch clinicians, prosthodontists, digital specialists, and dental laboratory professionals. Our goal is to advance accuracy standards in digital implant workflows through verified, evidence-based practices.
For years, 100–150 microns (µm) of error was considered “clinically acceptable.” In single-unit dentistry, that margin might hold. But in a full-arch implant restoration, those numbers stack fast — and the biological consequences can be significant.
As digital workflows become the backbone of modern implantology, clinicians are discovering that even small errors introduced by a scanner, scan body, or CAM process can quickly exceed acceptable tolerances.
When scan bodies enter the mouth, they don’t stay the same size. Polymers like PEEK expand several microns with even small temperature changes, while titanium remains dimensionally stable.
This expansion is quantifiable: PEEK’s coefficient of thermal expansion is ~47–50 µm/m·°C (Victrex PEEK Technical Data Sheet), compared to titanium’s ~8.6 µm/m·°C.
A rise of just 17 °C (from room to body temperature) can change a 6 mm PEEK scan body by about 5 µm. That’s distortion before scanning even begins.
Every time a patient opens wide, the mandible flexes. Research shows average deformation between 100 and 300 µm, depending on mouth opening, muscle tone, and bone density (Rodrigues 2009; Firoozmand 2010; Geng 2001).
That means the lower arch captured in an open-mouth scan doesn’t match the resting position where the prosthesis will seat. The result? A digital impression that fits in the software but not in the patient.
Every stage of your digital process introduces its own small deviation. Think about every step of your workflow — your 150-micron budget disappears fast.
Scanbody expansion from temperature or torque
Scanner stitching inconsistencies
CAM processing variation
Material shrinkage during 3D printing or milling
Each step adds 10–20 µm of error. By the time your framework reaches the mouth, the total deviation often exceeds 150 µm across a full-arch case (Assunção 2014; Choi 2020; Jemt 1996).
Each variable alone seems harmless. Together, they can turn a passive fit into chronic biological stress — microgaps, screw loosening, bone loss, and long-term patient discomfort (Tan 1996; Kano 2007).
This is why the most advanced full-arch clinicians have stopped guessing. They’re demanding verifiable accuracy. Dental photogrammetry delivers that proof. Unlike traditional intraoral scanners, which rely on surface stitching, photogrammetry captures implant positions using calibrated cameras and triangulation algorithms.
Systems such as the ICam Photogrammetry Scanner achieve sub-5 µm accuracy that is:
Verifiable – measurable in data, not assumed
Repeatable – independent of operator technique
Immune to intraoral distortion – captured extraorally under controlled conditions
This precision eliminates the compounding errors that plague conventional digital workflows and allows clinicians to achieve true passive fit.
When your implant framework seats passively:
Screws stay tight longer
Stress on implants and bone is minimized
Microgap formation is reduced, lowering bacterial risk
Prosthetic longevity increases significantly
ICam clinicians aren’t chasing trends — they’re redefining what accuracy means in digital implant dentistry. They’ve replaced “good enough” with measurable truth.
If you’re still relying on a workflow that assumes 100–150 µm of error is acceptable, you’re already outside the margin for predictability. The science — and the results — are clear. Precision isn’t a luxury anymore. It’s the new baseline for full-arch success.
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