Comparison of piezosurgery and conventional rotary instruments in schneider’s membrane sinus lifting: A pilot randomized trial

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to evaluate and compare the postoperative effects of the piezoelectric device and conventional rotary instruments in Schneider’s membrane sinus lifting procedure. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty patients requiring bilateral maxillary bone graft augmentation in the posterior maxillary region were selected. Piezoelectric surgery was performed on one side and conventional surgery with a rotary diamond bur on the other. Postoperative pain, swelling, edema, and mouth opening were evaluated at one hour and two and seven days after the procedures. All variables were submitted to Friedman or Wilcoxon tests at a 5% significance level. RESULTS: The comparison between groups showed that postoperative pain after one hour and two days was significantly lower (p< 0.05) in the piezoelectric device group. Regarding the edema, the results of both techniques were similar at all times assessed (p> 0.05). Piezosurgery was statistically associated (p< 0.05) with greater mouth opening only at the 48-hour evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: Osteotomy with a piezoelectric device causes less pain and greater mouth opening postoperatively compared with the conventional technique. Key words:Piezosurgery, sinus lift, edema, pain, rotative instruments.