The influence of dental experience on a dental implant navigation system

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the operating performance of an implant navigation system used by dental students and dentists of prosthodontic background with varying levels of experience. A surgical navigation system and optical tracking system were used, and dentists’ accuracies were evaluated in terms of differences between the positions of actually drilled holes and those of the holes planned using software before surgeries. METHODS: The study participants were 5 dental students or dentists who had studied in the same university and hospital but had different experience levels regarding implants. All participants were trained in operating the AqNavi system in the beginning of the study. Subsequently, using 5 pairs of dental models, each participant drilled 5 implant holes at 6 partially edentulous positions (11, 17, 26, 31, 36, and 47). In total, each participant conducted 30 drilling tests. RESULTS: In total, 150 tests among 5 dentists at 6 tooth positions (11, 17, 26, 31, 36, and 47) were conducted. Although a comparison of the tests revealed significant differences in the longitudinal error (P < .0001) and angular error (P = .0011), no significant difference was observed in the total error among the dentists. CONCLUSIONS: A relatively long operating time was associated with relatively little implant experience. Through the dental navigation system, dental students can be introduced to dental implant surgery earlier than what was possible in the past. The results demonstrated that the operational accuracy of the dental implant navigation system is not restricted by participants’ implant experience levels. The implant navigation system assists the dentist in the ability to accurately insert the dental implant into the correct position without being affected by his/her own experience of implant surgery.