Comparison of Dental Implant Placement Accuracy Using a Static Surgical Guide, a Virtual Guide and a Manual Placement Method - An In-Vitro Study.

Introduction: The use of a surgical guide during pre-operative planning significantly increases the efficiency and safety of dental implantation. However, the current widespread use of static navigation has led to a decrease in accuracy. Dynamic navigation, on the other hand, can be an alternative. This study compared the accuracy of dental implant placement on jaw models using static navigation, a virtual guide and the manual placement method. Materials and Methods: Nine patients with favourable conditions were selected, and three-dimensional full-body jaw models were set up. Group I had 21 implants placed using static navigation, Group II had 21 implants placed using dynamic navigation and Group III had 21 implants placed using the 'free hand' method. Placement accuracy was calculated by the deviation between the planned implant position and the actual position obtained from post-operative cone-beam computed tomography and model scanning. Results: The deviation from the planned implant position was 0.4° in Group I and 0.5° in Group II. The 'free hand' method yielded the worst result, with a statistically significant difference between Groups I and II. However, implantation using dynamic navigation showed a lower variance of deviation, with the majority of implants having a deviation ≤0.5 mm (86% compared to 67% in the static navigation group). Discussion: The accuracy of implant positioning using a virtual guide with dynamic imaging was comparable to static navigation and surpassed the accuracy obtained using the 'free hand' technique. This study highlights the potential of dynamic navigation control in dental implantology and warrants further clinical research to improve this system.

Laser-Induced µ-Rooms for Osteocytes on Implant Surface: An In Vivo Study.

Laser processing of dental implant surfaces is becoming a more widespread replacement for classical techniques due to its undeniable advantages, including control of oxide formation and structure and surface relief at the microscale. Thus, using a laser, we created several biomimetic topographies of various shapes on the surface of titanium screw-shaped implants to research their success and survival rates. A distinctive feature of the topographies is the presence of "µ-rooms", which are special spaces created by the depressions and elevations and are analogous to the µ-sized room in which the osteocyte will potentially live. We conducted the comparable in vivo study using dental implants with continuous (G-topography with µ-canals), discrete (S-topography with µ-cavities), and irregular (I-topography) laser-induced topographies. A histological analysis performed with the statistical method (with p-value less than 0.05) was conducted, which showed that G-topography had the highest BIC parameter and contained the highest number of mature osteocytes, indicating the best secondary stability and osseointegration.

The use of augmented reality navigation technology in combination with endoscopic surgery for the treatment of an odontogenic cyst of the upper jaw: A technical report.

Purpose: This report presents the first known use of a rigid endoscope with augmented reality technology for the removal of an odontogenic cyst that penetrated the maxillary sinus and illustrates its practical use in a patient. Materials and Methods: In the preoperative period, cone-beam computed tomography was performed in a specially designed marker holder frame, and the contours of the cyst and the nearest anatomical formations were segmented in the 3D Slicer program. During the operation, a marker was installed on the patient's head, as well as on the tip of the endoscope, which made it possible to visualize the mass and the movement of the endoscope. The surgical intervention was performed with the support of augmented reality in HoloLens glasses (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA, USA). Results: The use of this technology improved the accuracy of surgical manipulations, reduced operational risks, and shortened the time of surgery and the rehabilitation period. Conclusion: With the help of modern technologies, a navigation system was created that helped to track the position of the endoscope in mixed reality in real time, as well as to fully visualize anatomical formations.

The First Clinical Use of Augmented Reality to Treat Salivary Stones.

In this study, we report our first experience of applying the concretion visualization method using augmented reality technology. A clinical case of a new surgical intervention on the parotid salivary gland with the localization of salivary stone in its parenchyma is considered. During additional diagnostics, it was found that the size of the concretion exceeds 5 mm which did not allow us to use the endoscopic technologies. That was the reason for the choice of surgical intervention external access using salivary stone visualization with the help of augmented reality. The preoperative procedures included making the upper jaw cast model, fitting the model and individual mouthguard with an X-ray contrast marker and marker slot. In addition to this, computed tomography of the head and neck using a mouthguard was made. During surgery under general anesthesia with nasal intubation, the mouthguard together with the marker is installed in the patient's mouth and the surgeon puts on the glasses to visualize the stone image in place of its localization. This method enables to visualize the salivary stone on all surgery stages no matter what type of approach is used or performing hydropreparation. That is why using the augmented reality appears promising and is to be studied further.