The Art of Using Computer-Assisted Navigation Systems in Guided Implant Surgery: A Review

Computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) has been widely used in implant dentistry. Recent computer-guided dynamic navigation systems promise an accurate approach to minimally invasive implant placement. Robot-assisted surgery has been used in dentistry since 2017. The present study aims to review the properties, clinical outcomes, advantages, and limitations of navigation, robotics, and CAD/CAM in implant placement surgery.

An electronic search of the literature was conducted mainly through PubMed, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar databases. Studies in the English language were considered for inclusion if they evaluated robotics, CAD/CAM, and navigation in implant placement. Finally, 21 articles were selected.

Guided implant surgery is assumed accurate, precise, and reliable; it also has a lower complication rate compared to freehanded implant surgery. Surgical guides could be indicated for patients with limited mouth opening, tight interdental spaces, a strong gag reflex, and distal implants. Several studies have reported that computer-assisted surgery improves the accuracy of implant placement. Expensive equipment, high costs, and gaps between the guides and drill bite are the disadvantages of digital implant placement.

Computer-aided implant navigation systems can improve implant placement outcomes. Digital procedures have shown accurate outcomes in implant surgery. Despite the advantages of guided surgery, deviation of implant position from the planned position still occurs. However, improvements in digital dentistry are slowly overcoming these challenges.