Clinical Assessment of Two Modified Implant Impression Copings by means of Visual Analog Scale

Background: Dental implant impression taking may carry inaccuracies related to the impression coping. Purpose: Evaluate the difficulty, efficiency and future use of conventional and modified dental implant impression copings. Material and methods: 25 residents of two specialty fields in dentistry made two impressions of dental implants using: conventional impression copings after creating additional retention with auto polymerizing acrylic resin (CICAAR); and, modified implant impression coping with retention screws (MIICRS). A visual analog scale (VAS) questionnaire was used to assess difficulty, efficiency, and preference for the two methods used by the residents. In addition, the probability of replacing one method for the other in their future practices was registered. Wilcoxon Test was used for statistical analysis. Results: The mean difficulty levels for the impressions made were: 43.74 (± 23.31) and 20.79 (± 23.66), for the CICAAR and the MIICRS, respectively. Of 25 residents, 88% preferred the MIICRS, 92% reported the MIICRS most effective, and 80% reported that the MIICRS will replace the conventional implant impression copings in their practices. All evaluations were statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusions: According to the residents' perceptions, the MIICRS was more efficient, user friendly and more prone to be used in their future practice when compared with the CICAAR.