Volume 146, July 2024, 105032Author links open overlay panel, , , , , AbstractObjectives

To quantify the reproducibility of the drill calibration process in dynamic navigation guided placement of dental implants and to identify the human factors that could affect the precision of this process in order to improve the overall implant placement accuracy.

Methods

A set of six drills and four implants were calibrated by three operators following the standard calibration process of NaviDent® (ClaroNav Inc.). The reproducibility of the position of each tip of a drill or implant was calculated in relation to the pre-planned implants’ entry and apex positions. Intra- and inter-operator reliabilities were reported. The effects of the drill length and shape on the reproducibility of the calibration process were also investigated. The outcome measures for reproducibility were expressed in terms of variability range, average and maximum deviations from the mean distance.

Results

A satisfactory inter-rater reproducibility was noted. The precision of the calibration of the tip position in terms of variability range was between 0.3 and 3.7 mm. We noted a tendency towards a higher precision of the calibration process with longer drills. More calibration errors were observed when calibrating long zygomatic implants with non-locking adapters than with pointed drills. Flexible long-pointed drills had low calibration precision that was comparable to the non-flexible short-pointed drills.

Conclusion

The clinicians should be aware of the calibration error associated with the dynamic navigation placement of dental and zygomatic implants. This should be taken in consideration especially for long implants, short drills, and long drills that have some degree of flexibility.

Clinical significance

Dynamic navigation procedures are associated with an inherent drill calibration error. The manual stability during the calibration process is crucial in minimising this error. In addition, the clinician must never ignore the prescribed accuracy checking procedures after each calibration process.

Keywords

Dynamic navigation

Calibration

Precision

Human error

Reproducibility

Implants

Zygomatic

Abbreviationsd

Distance between the pre- and post- transformed point coordinates

AvDevM

Average deviation from mean

MaxDevM

Maximum deviation from mean

SD

Standard deviation from mean

CBCT

Cone beam computed tomography

CSV

Comma Separated Values

ICC

Inter class correlation coefficient

ALtA

Anterior left apex point

ALtC

Anterior left collar point

ARtA

Anterior right apex point

ARtC

Anterior right collar point

PLtA

Posterior left apex point

PLtC

Posterior left collar point

PRtA

Posterior right apex point

PRtC

Posterior right collar point

© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.