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Updated: May 17, 2026
Dynamic Navigation for Dental Implant Placement
Published on: September 13, 2022
Clinical advantages of computer-guided implant placement: a systematic review
Margareta Hultin1, Krister G Svensson, Mats Trulsson
1Division of Periodontology, Department of Dental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, PO Box 4064, SE-141 04, Huddinge, Sweden. Margareta.Hultin@ki.se
Objectives:
To systematically scrutinize the current scientific literature regarding the clinical advantages of computer guidance of implant placement.
Materials And Methods:
Four electronic databases were searched using specified indexing terms. The reference lists of publications were also searched manually. For inclusion, publications had to meet pre-established criteria.
Results:
The searches yielded 1028 titles and abstracts. After data extraction and interpretation, 28 publications and 2 systematic reviews remained for inclusion. Fifteen studies were prospective observational and four were retrospective observational. Nine studies included a control group (controlled clinical trials) of which seven were prospective and two retrospective. Only three of the prospective studies were randomized (RCT's). A total of 852 patients were treated with 4032 implants using computer-guided implant surgery. The number of patients included in each study ranged from 6 to 206. The age ranged from 16 to 92 years and the follow-up period varied between 1 and 49 months.
Conclusions:
The limited scientific evidence available suggests that guided placement has at least as good implant survival as conventional protocols. However, several unexpected procedure-linked adverse events during guided implant placement indicate that the clinical demands on the surgeon were no less than those during conventional placement. A clinical advantage with flapless guided surgery is that the technique is likely to decrease pain and discomfort in the immediate postoperative period.
