Aim: The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the marginal adaptation of Emax ceramic inlays fabricated using traditional elastomeric impression technique and the digital impression technique in permanent premolars. Materials and methods: Standardized Class II inlay cavity of dimension 3 × 2.5 × 1.5 mm³ for ceramic inlay was prepared on the mesial surface of 14 freshly extracted human permanent premolar teeth due to orthodontic considerations. The teeth were randomly allocated into two groups, each with seven teeth. In Group I, the inlay cavity was recorded using the traditional elastomeric impression (TEI) technique, whereas in Group II, impressions were recorded using the digital impression (DI) technique. Emax inlays were fabricated using computer-aided design (CAD)/computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) technology and cemented to the prepared cavity using resin-modified glass ionomer cement. Subsequently, the marginal adaptation of inlay in the proximal and occlusal regions was evaluated under stereomicroscopy. The Shapiro-Wilk test was employed to determine the normality of the data. An unpaired t-test was utilized to compare the efficacy between the two study groups. Results: The traditional rubber base impression group had higher gap values in the occlusal region (1248.0 ± 179.83) and proximal region (1342.6 ± 136.42). In contrast, the digital impression technique showed smaller gap values in both the occlusal region (470.1 ± 123.36) and proximal region (476.2 ± 151.78). There was a significant difference in the gap values of traditional elastomeric and digital impression techniques (p < 0.001) in both occlusal and proximal regions with digital impressions showing the least value in the occlusal region. Conclusion: The intraoral scanner achieved better marginal adaptation compared to the conventional technique. Therefore, the performance of the digital impression technique surpassed the traditional elastomeric impression technique in the fabrication of ceramic inlays using CAD/CAM, making it a recommended choice for routine clinical practice. Clinical significance: Digital intraoral impressions can be utilized for the fabrication of indirect prostheses as they exhibit minimal margin discrepancy compared to traditional techniques. They improve accuracy and precision compared to traditional impressions, increase patient as well as operator comfort, and reduce the number of visits.