Evaluation of Computer-Aided Navigation and Augmented Reality for Bicortical Mini-Implant Placement in Maxillary...

Area of Science:

• Orthodontics and Dental Implantology
• Computer-Aided Surgery
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Maxillary skeletal expansion (MSE) is a common orthodontic procedure.
• Accurate placement of bicortical orthodontic mini-implants is crucial for successful MSE.
• Traditional freehand techniques may have limitations in precision.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the accuracy of three techniques for placing orthodontic mini-implants for MSE appliances.
• To evaluate computer-aided static navigation (NAV), augmented reality (AR), and freehand placement technique (FHT).

Main Methods:

• 120 bicortical orthodontic self-drilling mini-implants were placed in 10 3D printed polyurethane maxilla models.
• Implants were randomly assigned to NAV (n=40), AR (n=40), or FHT (n=40).
• Postoperative CBCT scans were used to measure coronal entry-point, apical end-point, and angular deviations.

Main Results:

• Statistically significant differences (p < 0.001) were found in coronal entry-point, apical end-point, and angular deviations among the three techniques.
• Augmented reality (AR) demonstrated superior accuracy compared to NAV and FHT.
• NAV showed higher accuracy than FHT for implant placement.

Conclusions:

• The augmented reality (AR) technique is the most accurate for placing bicortical orthodontic mini-implants for MSE appliances.
• Computer-aided static navigation (NAV) is more accurate than the conventional freehand technique (FHT).
• AR and NAV represent advancements for precise MSE appliance placement.