Thermal changes during implant site preparation with a digital surgical guide and slot design drill: an ex vivo study using a bovine rib model.

Purpose: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the degree of heat generation when a novel drill design with an irrigation slot was used with metal sleeve-free (MF) and metal sleeve-incorporated (MI) surgical guides in an environment similar to that of the actual oral cavity.

Methods: A typodont with a missing mandibular right first molar and 21 bovine rib blocks were used. Three-dimensional-printed MF and MI surgical guides, designed for the placement of internal tapered implant fixtures, were used with slot and non-slot drills. The following groups were compared: group 1, MI surgical guide with slot drill; group 2, MI surgical guide with a non-slot drill; and group 3, MF surgical guide with a slot drill. A constant-temperature water bath at 36°C was used. The drilling was performed in 6 stages, and the initial, highest, and lowest temperatures of the cortical bone were measured at each stage using a non-contact infrared thermometer.

Results: There were no temperature increases above the initial temperature in any drilling procedure. The only significant difference between the non-slot and slot groups was observed with the use of the first drill in the MI group, with a higher temperature in the non-slot group (P=0.012). When the heat generation during the first and the second drilling was compared in the non-slot group, the heat generation during the first drilling was significantly higher (P<0.001), and there was no significant difference in heat generation between the drills in the slot group.

Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, implant-site preparation with the surgical guide showed no critical increase in the temperature of the cortical bone, regardless of whether there was a slot in the drill. In particular, the slotted drill had a cooling effect during the initial drilling.