Implant placement accuracy when using stereolithographic template as a surgical guide: preliminary results

Area of Science:

• Dental Implantology
• Surgical Navigation
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Accurate dental implant placement is crucial for successful prosthetic rehabilitation.
• Stereolithographic surgical templates offer a method for pre-operative planning and intra-operative guidance.
• Evaluating the precision of these templates is essential for clinical adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the accuracy of implant angulations and entrance points using stereolithographic surgical templates.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of coordinate measure machine (CMM) in measuring implant placement accuracy.
• To determine the reliability of stereolithographic templates in transferring planned positions to the surgical field.

Main Methods:

• Forty implants were placed in edentulous jaws using stereolithographic surgical templates.
• Implant angulations (mesio-distal and bucco-lingual) and entrance points were evaluated using CMM.
• The central axis of planned and actual implants was determined by locating three points.
• Data were analyzed using the paired t-test.

Main Results:

• Mean mesio-distal angle deviation was 0.7 +/- 5.02 degrees; mean bucco-lingual deviation was 0.46 +/- 4.43 degrees.
• 88% and 91% of implants had <7 degrees angle deviation in mesio-distal and bucco-lingual planes, respectively.
• Mean entrance point deviation was 0.2 +/- 0.72 mm, with 85% within 1 mm of the planned position.

Conclusions:

• Stereolithographic surgical templates demonstrate sufficient accuracy in transferring planned implant angulations and entrance points.
• CMM is a reliable tool for evaluating implant placement accuracy.
• Further clinical studies with larger patient cohorts are recommended to validate these findings.