Development of a surgical guide for minimally invasive corticotomies with a complete digital intraoral and laboratory...

Surgically facilitated orthodontic treatment is increasingly being used, especially for adults, to facilitate tooth movements and reduce the duration of orthodontic treatment. The present article reports on an innovative, safe, and minimally invasive technique to perform flapless corticotomies using a dedicated surgical guide produced with a complete digital intraoral and laboratory workflow.

A 51-year-old man presented with maxillary and mandibular anterior crowding. He required rapid treatment with limited use of braces. Corticotomies were planned for both arches before the use of orthodontic appliances. The matching of the stereolithographic files obtained from the digital prints of the full arches and the cone beam computed tomography images allowed for the positioning of the cutting planes for corticisions. The guide was printed with a transparent, biocompatible, and photopolymerizable resin, and cold sterilized. Minimally invasive corticotomies were performed using a piezoelectric instrument. The orthodontic treatment started immediately after surgery.

No adverse events were recorded during surgery. The piezoelectric instrument was guided accurately, and precise application of the corticisions prevented all the anatomical elements from being injured. The healing was uneventful and the patient experienced no pain.

The present report shows that a surgical guide specifically and digitally produced for corticotomies allowed for the performance of a minimally invasive flapless technique and accurate piezosurgery. The use of such a guide was easy to implement, made the procedure safer, and reduced postoperative pain.