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Influence of Metal Guide Sleeves on the Accuracy and Precision of Dental Implant Placement

Now online in the Journal of Prosthodontics, an investigation of the influence of metal guide sleeves on dental implant placement during guided implant surgery. This article was co-authored by ACP members, Rami Ammoun DDS, MS, FACP and Sompop Bencharit DDS, MS, PhD, FACP.

Metal sleeves are commonly used in implant guides for guided surgery, however they increase the cost of treatment and are specific to individual implant systems and surgical implant tool kits. This in vitro study examined whether the metal sleeve is necessary for implant guided surgery and if there is any statistical difference between the accuracy of implant guides with and without a metal sleeve.

The experiment was conducted in two steps, with 10 casts for each group. The first step was to analyze the postoperative angulation and positional differences created by the modification of a single 3D printed surgical guide sleeve in comparison to those of a single surgical guide with a metal sleeve.

The second step was to analyze angulation and positional differences produced when the sample size of the surgical guides was increased for the two different groups to produce a guide to cast ratio of 1:1.

The authors conclude that a digitally designed surgical guide with no metal sleeve demonstrates similar accuracy but higher precision compared to a surgical guide with a metal sleeve. Metal sleeves may not be required for accurate implant placement.

Adams CR, Ammoun R, Deeb GR, Bencharit S. Influence of metal guide sleeves on the accuracy and precision of dental implant placement using guided implant surgery: an in vitro study. J Prosthodont 2022; https://doi.org/10.1111/jopr.13503

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