The digitization of scanbodies on dental implants is required to use computer-aided design/computer-assisted manufacture processes for implant prosthetics. Little is known about the accuracy of ...scanbody digitization with intraoral scanners and dental lab scanners. This study aimed to examine the precision of different intraoral digital impression systems as well as a dental lab scanner using commercially available implant scanbodies.
Two study models with a different number and distribution of dental implant scanbodies were produced from conventional implant impressions. The study models were scanned using three different intraoral scanners (iTero, Cadent; Trios, 3Shape; and True Definition, 3M ESPE) and a dental lab scanner (D250, 3Shape). For each study model, 10 scans were performed per scanner to produce repeated measurements for the calculation of precision. The distance and angulation between the respective scanbodies were measured. The results of each scanning system were compared using analysis of variance, and post hoc Tukey test was conducted for a pairwise comparison of scanning devices.
The precision values of the scanbodies varied according to the distance between the scanbodies and the scanning device. A distance of a single tooth space and a jaw-traversing distance between scanbodies produced significantly different results for distance and angle measurements between the scanning systems (P < .05).
The precision of intraoral scanners and the dental lab scanner was significantly different. The precision of intraoral scanners decreased with an increasing distance between the scanbodies, whereas the precision of the dental lab scanner was independent of the distance between the scanbodies.
Virtual implant planning systems integrate (cone beam-) computed tomography data to assess bone quantity and virtual models for the design of the implant-retained prosthesis and drill guides. Five ...commercially available systems for virtual implant planning were examined regarding the modalities of integration of radiographic data, virtual dental models and the design of drill guides for guided implant surgery. The purpose of this review was to describe the limitations of these available systems regarding the import of imaging data and the design and fabrication of a drill guide.
The following software systems were examined regarding the import of imaging data and the export of the virtual implant planning for the design and fabrication of a drill guide with the help of two clinical situations requiring dental implant therapy: coDiagnostiX™, DentalWings, Canada (CDX); Simplant Pro™, Dentsply, Sweden (SIM); Smop™, Swissmeda, Switzerland (SMP); NobelClinician™, Nobel Biocare, Switzerland (NC); Implant Studio, 3Shape, Denmark (IST). Assessment criteria included data formats and management as well as the workflow for the design and production of drill guides.
All systems have a DICOM-interface ("Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine") for the import of radiographic data. Imaging artefacts could be reduced but not eliminated by manual data processing. The import of virtual dental models in a universal format (STL: Standard Tesselation Language) was possible with three systems; one system could only be used with a proprietary data format. All systems display three-dimensional surface models or two-dimensional cross-sections with varying orientation for virtual implant planning. Computer aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) of drill guides may be performed by the user with the help of default parameters or solely by the provider of the software and thus without the influence of the clinician.
Data bases of commonly used implant systems are available in all tested software, however not all systems allow to plan and execute fully guided implant placement. An individual design and in-house manufacturing of the drill guide is only available in some software systems. However, at the time of publication most recent software versions showed flexibility in individual design and in-house manufacturing of drill guides.
The accuracy of intraoral scanners is a prerequisite for the fabrication of dental restorations in computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) dentistry. While the precision of ...intraoral scanners has been investigated in vitro, clinical data on the accuracy of intraoral scanning (IOS) are limited.
The purpose of this clinical study was to determine the accuracy of intraoral scanning with different devices compared with extraoral scanning.
An experimental appliance was fabricated for 11 participants and then scanned intraorally and extraorally with 3 different intraoral scanners and a reference scanner. Intraoral and extraoral scans were subdivided into complete-arch and short-span scans and compared with the reference scan to assess trueness. Repeated scans in each group were assessed for precision.
Precision and trueness were higher for extraoral scans compared with intraoral scans, except for complete-arch scans with 1 intraoral scanner. The median precision of short-span scans was higher (extraoral: 22 to 29 μm, intraoral: 23 to 43 μm) compared with complete-arch scans (extraoral: 81 to 165 μm, intraoral: 80 to 198 μm). The median trueness of short-span scans (extraoral: 28 to 40 μm, intraoral: 38 to 47 μm) was higher than that of complete-arch scans (extraoral: 118 to 581 μm, intraoral: 147 to 433 μm) for intraoral and extraoral scanning.
Intraoral conditions negatively influenced the accuracy of the scanning devices, which was also reduced for the complete-arch scans.
While the number of coronavirus cases from 2019 continues to grow, hospitals are reporting shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline healthcare workers. Furthermore, PPE for the ...eyes and mouth, such as face shields, allow for additional protection when working with aerosols. 3-D printing enables the easy and rapid production of lightweight plastic frameworks based on open-source data. The practicality and clinical suitability of four face shields printed using a fused deposition modeling printer were examined. The weight, printing time, and required tools for assembly were evaluated. To assess the clinical suitability, each face shield was worn for one hour by 10 clinicians and rated using a visual analogue scale. The filament weight (21-42 g) and printing time (1:40-3:17 h) differed significantly between the four frames. Likewise, the fit, wearing comfort, space for additional PPE, and protection varied between the designs. For clinical suitability, a chosen design should allow sufficient space for goggles and N95 respirators as well as maximum coverage of the facial area. Consequently, two datasets are recommended. For the final selection of the ideal dataset to be used for printing, scalability and economic efficiency need to be carefully balanced with an acceptable degree of protection.
Objectives
The mechanisms involved in the initiation and progression of peri‐implantitis lesions are poorly understood. It was the aim to determine the content and activation status of macrophages ...present in human peri‐implantitis lesions and compare the current findings with the macrophage polarization associated with periodontitis lesions.
Material and Methods
A total of 14 patients were studied in this investigation. Seven were soft tissue biopsies from dental implants affected by peri‐implantitis that required explantation. Seven biopsies were from chronic periodontal disease. Immunofluorescence stains were performed using biomarkers to identify macrophages (CD68+) undergoing M1 polarization (iNOS+) and M2 polarization (CD206+), along with Hoechst 33,342 to identify DNA content. All samples were stained and photographed, and double‐positive cells for CD68 and iNOS or CD68 and CD206 were quantified.
Results
All peri‐implantitis biopsies examined revealed a mixed population of macrophages undergoing M1 polarization and M2 polarization. Further analysis demonstrated the co‐expression of iNOS and CD206, which indicates the presence of a heterogenic immune response on peri‐implantitis lesions. Macrophage polarization in peri‐implantitis lesions presents a distinct pattern than in periodontitis. We observed a significant increase in the population of M1 macrophages on peri‐implantitis samples compared to periodontal disease samples.
Conclusion
Our results demonstrate that peri‐implantitis has higher numbers of macrophages displaying a distinct macrophage M1 polarization signature compared to periodontitis lesions. This pattern may explain, in part, the distinct nature of peri‐implantitis progression vs. periodontitis in humans.
Purpose To present an efficient workflow for the production of implant drilling guides using virtual planning tools. For this purpose, laser surface scanning, cone beam computed tomography, ...computer-aided design and manufacturing, and 3-dimensional (3D) printing were combined. Materials and Methods Intraoral optical impressions (iTero, Align Technologies, Santa Clara, CA) and digital 3D radiographs (cone beam computed tomography) were performed at the first consultation of 1 exemplary patient. With image processing techniques, the intraoral surface data, acquired using an intraoral scanner, and radiologic 3D data were fused. The virtual implant planning process (using virtual library teeth) and the in-office production of the implant drilling guide was performed after only 1 clinical consultation of the patient. Implant surgery with a computer-aided design and manufacturing produced implant drilling guide was performed during the second consultation. The production of a scan prosthesis and multiple preoperative consultations of the patient were unnecessary. Conclusions The presented procedure offers another step in facilitating the production of drilling guides in dental implantology. Four main advantages are realized with this procedure. First, no additional scan prosthesis is needed. Second, data acquisition can be performed during the first consultation. Third, the virtual planning is directly transferred to the drilling guide without a loss of accuracy. Finally, the treatment cost and time required are reduced with this facilitated production process.
Objective
To assess clinical and patient‐reported outcomes of implant‐prosthetic rehabilitations in patients with a history of head–neck cancer (HNC), treated with tumor resection without (TR) or ...with adjuvant radiotherapy (TR/RT). A healthy cohort rehabilitated with the same reconstructive protocols served as control group (C).
Materials and Methods
A total of 28 women and 29 men were considered in the present retrospective study. Participants received 322 implants, finally supporting 79 prosthetic reconstructions. Primary outcome was the assessment of implant and prosthetic survival rates. Furthermore peri‐implant soft tissue parameters (attached peri‐implant mucosa, AM; modified bleeding and plaque indices, mBI/mPI; probing depth, PD) and prosthetic technical complications were documented. Patient‐reported outcome measures (PROMs) by means of visual analog scales (VAS) and the Oral Health Impact Profile German 14 form (OHIP G14) were collected. For statistical purposes Chi‐square and Mann–Whitney‐U‐Test were adapted.
Results
After a mean follow‐up of 81.2 ± 50.3 months, implant survival rate was 98.1% (HNC‐TR), 98.2% (HNC‐TR/RT) and 100.0% (C), respectively (four implants failed in the HNC groups). HNC‐TR/RT showed significant higher mPI and mBI compared to C. Within HNC‐TR/RT, vestibuloplasty significantly reduced mBI and PD values. No failures occurred at the prosthetic level. Overall, higher VAS scores were reported for bar‐ compared with Locator‐retained prostheses. Furthermore, increased OHIP G14 values resulted for HNC‐TR/RT.
Conclusions
High survival rates on implant and prosthetic level were observed. The use of soft tissue grafts resulted in stabilization of the peri‐implant mucosa in irradiated patients. In terms of retention and chewing ability, participants preferred bars over Locator attachments.
Platelet-rich fibrin is a blood concentrate system used for soft tissue and bone tissue regeneration. In the last decade, platelet rich fibrin (PRF) has been widely used in different indication ...fields, particularly in oral and maxillofacial surgery. This review investigates the level of scientific evidence of published articles related to the use of PRF for bone and soft tissue regeneration in dentistry and maxillofacial surgery. An electronic literature research using the biomedical search engine "National Library of Medicine" (PubMed-MEDLINE) was performed in May 2017. A total of 392 articles were found, 72 of which were classified for each indication field. When comparing PRF with biomaterials vs biomaterial alone in sinus lift (5 studies; IIa), no statistically significant differences were detected. Socket preservation and ridge augmentation using PRF significantly enhanced new bone formation compared to healing without PRF (7 studies Ib, IIa, IIb). Reepithelialization and bone regeneration was achieved in 96 of 101 patients diagnosed with medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (5 studies, III). In periodontology, PRF alone (6 studies; Ib, IIa, IIb) or its combination with biomaterials (6 studies; Ib, IIa, IIb) significantly improved the pocket depth and attachment loss compared to a treatment without PRF. Over 70% of the patients were part of studies with a high level of scientific evidence (randomized and controlled prospective studies). This published evidence (38 articles), with a high scientific level, showed that PRF is a beneficial tool that significantly improves bone and soft tissue regeneration. However, the clinical community requires a standardization of PRF protocols to further examine the benefit of PRF in bone and soft tissue regeneration in reproducible studies, with a higher scientific level of evidence.
Patient- and technology-related parameters influence the successful implementation of virtual implant planning and guided implant surgery. Besides data processing and computer aided design of drill ...guides as described in Part I, the possibilities and limitations for prosthetic set-up and virtual implant planning are essential (Part II).
The following software systems were examined using two different clinical situations for implant therapy: coDiagnostiX™, DentalWings, Canada (CDX); Simplant Pro™, Dentsply, Sweden (SIM); Smop™, Swissmeda, Switzerland (SMP); NobelClinician™, Nobel Biocare, Switzerland (NC); Implant Studio, 3Shape, Denmark (IST). Assessment criteria geared towards interfaces and integrated tools for prosthetic set-up and virtual implant planning.
A software interface for an individual virtual prosthetic set-up was provided by two systems (CDX, IST), whereas the set-up of standardized teeth was provided by four systems (CDX, SIM, SMP, IST). Alternatively, a conventional set-up could be scanned and imported. One system could solely work with the digitization of a conventional set-up for virtual implant planning (NC). Stock abutments could be displayed for implant planning, but none of the tested software systems provided tools for the design of an individual abutment. All systems displayed three-dimensional reconstructions or two-dimensional cross-sections with varying orientation for virtual implant placement. The inferior alveolar nerve could be marked to respect a minimum distance between the nerve and the planned implant. Three implant planning systems provided a library to display more than 50 implant systems (CDX, SIM, IST), one system provided 33 implant systems (SMP) and one implant system provided 4 implant systems (NC).
Depending on the used software system, there are limited options for a virtual set-up, virtual articulators and the display of a virtual prosthetic set-up. The implant systems used by the clinician is important for the decision which software system to choose, as there is a discrepancy between available implant systems and the number of supported systems in each software.
Currently, the gold standard for dental imaging is projection radiography or cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). These methods are fast and cost-efficient, but exhibit poor soft tissue contrast and ...expose the patient to ionizing radiation (X-rays). The need for an alternative imaging modality e.g. for soft tissue management has stimulated a rising interest in dental magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which provides superior soft tissue contrast. Compared to X-ray imaging, however, so far the spatial resolution of MRI is lower and the scan time is longer. In this contribution, we describe wireless, inductively-coupled intraoral coils whose local sensitivity enables high resolution MRI of dental soft tissue. In comparison to CBCT, a similar image quality with complementary contrast was obtained ex vivo. In-vivo, a voxel size of the order of 250 ∙ 250 ∙ 500 μm(3) was achieved in 4 min only. Compared to dental MRI acquired with clinical equipment, the quality of the images was superior in the sensitive volume of the coils and is expected to improve the planning of interventions and monitoring thereafter. This method may enable a more accurate dental diagnosis and avoid unnecessary interventions, improving patient welfare and bringing MRI a step closer to becoming a radiation-free alternative for dental imaging.