Accuracy of haptic robotic guidance of dental implant surgery for completely edentulous arches.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The accuracy of single implant placement is critical, as errors may cause problems with vital structures intraoperatively, as well as postoperatively with the prostheses. These issues may be exacerbated in complete-arch edentulous treatments requiring relative accuracy among multiple implants, particularly with prefabricated prosthetic structures.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this clinical study was to determine the accuracy of dental implant placement by using haptic robotic guidance in completely edentulous participants.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

In a prospective single-arm clinical study, 5 qualified participants elected to receive dental implants placed by using haptic robotic guidance to restore either the maxillary or mandibular arch, or both, with complete-arch implant-supported prostheses. Three dual-arch participants and 2 single-arch participants resulted in 38 endosteal dental implants being placed. A virtual preoperative restorative and surgical plan was created before surgery. This plan was matched to the surgical workspace on the day of surgery by using a bone-mounted fiducial splint fabricated from a cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scan. Intraoperatively, the surgeons maneuvered a handpiece attached to the robotic guidance arm, osteotomies were created with a haptically constrained handpiece, and the implants were placed with 3-dimensional haptic constraints as per the virtual plan. Postoperative CBCT scans allowed the evaluation of the deviations of the actual implant placement relative to the plan.

RESULTS

Twenty-three implants were placed in the mandible and 15 in the maxilla. The mean ±standard deviation global angular deviation was 2.56 ±1.48 degrees, while the crown of the placed implant showed a deviation from the plan of 1.04 ±0.70 mm and the apex of 0.95 ±0.73 mm. The signed depth deviation was 0.42 ±0.46 mm proud. No adverse events were reported.

CONCLUSIONS

This clinical series for treating completely edentulous patients by using haptic robotic guidance was found to be safe and accurate. While further longer-term clinical studies are necessary to measure outcomes and to assess differences as compared with nonrobotic implementations, haptic robotic preparation appears to confer additional intraoperative advantages over other techniques for treating completely edentulous arches.