Radiographic and surgical template for placement of orthodontic microimplants in interradicular areas: a technical note.

Purpose: In recent years, microimplants have gained popularity in orthodontics. Microimplants are primarily placed in complex sites where critical anatomic structures, such as roots of teeth, may be damaged, so precise surgical planning is required prior to placement. The goal of this report was to introduce a newly developed technique for the placement of microimplants in interradicular areas and evaluate its accuracy.

Materials And Methods: The planned placement site is radiographed using a radiographic template and film holder fabricated by the investigators. The resultant radiograph is clipped and attached to the radiographic template to make a surgical template to guide the placement of the microimplant. Forty-one patients, 15 men and 26 women ranging in age from 21 to 29 years, were enrolled in this study. On 1 side of the arch, this novel technique was used for implant placement, and on the other side, an established method reported by Maino and associates (i.e., the control technique) was used.

Results: A total of 116 microimplants 2 mm wide and 9 mm long were placed interradicularly in 41 patients. Twelve of 58 microimplants were placed unsuccessfully in the control group, versus 2 of 58 in the test group. Statistical analysis showed that there was a significant difference between the 2 techniques in terms of success rate (P < .05).

Discussion: Presurgical diagnosis of bone quantity and transfer of the information to the surgical sites are vital in microimplant placement. Radiographic templates modified for surgical purposes have the advantage of transferring radiographic information directly to the surgical site.

Conclusion: This study, although limited in some respects, demonstrated that microimplant placement can be improved using the newly developed technique described.