ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of two different styles of mechanical implant torque wrenches before and after sterilization and repeated use. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty new spring-style and friction-style mechanical implant torque wrenches from five different manufacturers were selected as subjects of study and assessed in terms of accuracy. Three manufacturers produced, spring-style (Dio, Neobiotech, Osstem) torque wrenches, and other three manufactures produced friction-style (Dentium, Osstem, Shinhung) torque wrenches. The procedure of target torque measurement was performed 10 times for each device and a digital torque gauge (MGT-12, Mark-10 Corp, USA) was used to record the measurements. All torque wrenches were used repeatedly for 20 times and then sterilized. This whole procedure was repeated 100 times and all torque wrenches were retested. The collected data was analyzed using a SPSS Statistics Analysis program to evaluate the accuracy of the torque wrenches and Mann-Whitney-U test was used for a comparative analysis. RESULTS: After sterilization and repeated use procedure, results did not show any significant difference between error values in the spring-style torque wrench group. However, the results demonstrated an increase in error values within the friction-style torque wrench group (P.05). There was significant difference between the accuracy of new friction-style torque wrenches before and after 100 cycles of sterilization and repeated use (P<.05). Within the limitation of this study, spring-style torque wrenches were more accurate than friction-style torque wrenches in delivering target torque values.
