The influence of crown coverage on the accuracy of static guided implant surgery in partially edentulous models: An in vitro study.

Objective: To evaluate the influence of crown coverage of surgical guides on the accuracy of static computer-assisted implant surgeries (sCAISs) in different partially edentulous situations.

Methods: Acrylic models with five types of partially edentulous situations were fabricated in this study. In coDiagnostiX software (Dental Wings, Montreal, Canada), surgical templates were designed and fabricated with reduced crown coverage (RCC), standard crown coverage (SCC) and extended crown coverage (ECC). Then, fully guided implant placement into the acrylic models was performed by dental surgeons with more than 10 years of experience. In total, 120 models and 120 guides were manufactured, and 168 bone-level Straumann replica implants (4.1 × 10 mm, Institut Straumann AG, Basel, Switzerland) were inserted. Postoperative implant positions were scanned (Trios 3, 3 shape, Copenhagen, Denmark) and compared with the preplanned virtual positions via coDiagnostiX (Dental Wings, Montreal, Canada). The angular, coronal and apical deviations were measured and analyzed to evaluate the accuracy of implant insertion. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey's test.

Results: For single tooth missing situations, the RCC group was similar to the SCC group and ECC group in anterior sites. In premolar or molar sites, the SCC and ECC groups had no statistically significant difference (p > .05), while the RCC group had more coronal and apical deviation (p < .05). For multiple teeth missing situations, there was no difference among the RCC, SCC and ECC groups (p > .05). No difference was found among the five edentulous situations with different CCs (p > .05).

Conclusion: The CC of templates can significantly affect the accuracy of guided surgeries when implants are inserted in a single gap at posterior sites. Templates with CC extended to the undercut line may be an optimal choice for static guided surgeries.

Clinical Significance: The accuracy of static guided implant surgery can be influenced by the CC of templates, and proper CC with the guide covering extending to the undercut line may contribute to improved accuracy. CC should be taken into consideration when designing surgical templates.