In Vitro Accuracy of Static Guided Implant Surgery Measured by Optical Scan: Examining the Impact of Operator Experience

Abstract

Studies examining the effect of operator experience on the accuracy of static guided implant surgery have used postoperative computed tomography (CT) images to measure the error, with inconsistent results. The purpose of this study was to try to clarify this issue by using a measurement method based on the postoperative optical scan. Thirty dentists were divided into an experienced group and an inexperienced group. On a partially edentulous mandibular model in the manikin head, each dentist placed three implants via the stereolithographic (SLA) surgical guide. The implant positions were identified by a desktop scanner and compared with the planned positions using a metrology software program. No statistically significant differences were observed for any of the measured positional and angular deviations of the three implant sites between experienced and inexperienced operators (p > 0.01). All the mean values of deviations of the inexperienced group, except the depth deviation, were less than the experienced group. Implants inserted by dentists under 40 years old had significantly better accuracy than senior doctors in the global deviation at implant apex (p = 0.006). Within the limits of this study, we concluded that operator experience is not a critical factor in achieving the accuracy of guided implant surgery via the tooth-supported SLA surgical guide. Large deviations could occur even with the aid of the SLA surgical guide, and care must be taken to avoid errors for both experienced and inexperienced operators.

Effect of Different Software Programs on the Accuracy of Dental Scanner Using Three-Dimensional Analysis

“…Many studies have reported the use of various software programs for 3D analysis [7,[22][23][24]. 3D analysis is sometimes applied to evaluate the processing precision of CAM as the surgical static guide for implant surgery and for the fixed and removable dental prosthesis fabricated by 3D printing or milling [1,12,13,26,27]; however, many studies have applied 3D analysis to evaluate the accuracy of 3D scanners [1,4,10,11]. The four software programs used in this study were used as evaluation tools for the accuracy of the 3D scanner in previous studies [2,6,15,16].…”

“…A 3D analysis is possible only in specific analysis software programs, and analysis software programs released by various manufacturers are used [22][23][24][25]. In 3D analysis, the CAD reference model (CRM) and CAD test models (CTMs) are first aligned and 3D comparison is then performed, which is a general 3D analysis process (Figure 1) [26][27][28]. In the alignment process, the approximate positions of CRM and CTMs are initially aligned, followed by optimal alignment (Figure 1).…”

A new inertial navigation system for guiding implant placement. An in-vitro proof-of-concept study

“…Two in vitro studies using surgical templates showed significantly greater deviations by non-experienced users [ 35 , 36 ]. However, in a similar setting to that of the present study, the subject’s experience was not demonstrated to be a critical factor in achieving the accuracy of implant position [ 37 ]. This lack of consistency could be explained by the design of the guide.…”

Investigation on the application of digital guide templates guided dental implantation in China

“…The influence of clinicians’ surgical experience on the accuracy of DGT-guided implantation is a research hotspot because it almost determines whether novice clinicians can be free to use DGTs for implantation. Lin et al [ 39 ] showed that when the tooth-supported guide template was used in a well-controlled environment, the surgical experience was not the key factor affecting the implant accuracy. Some scholars [ 37 ] studied the influence of surgical experience on the accuracy of the half-guided and the mucosa-supported guide templates and reached the same conclusion.…”