Accuracy of autonomous robotic surgery for dental implant placement in fully edentulous patients: A retrospective case series study

Abstract

Objectives: This study evaluated the accuracy of dental implant placement using the robotic computer-assisted implant surgery (r-CAIS) technology in fully edentulous patients. Materials and Methods: Fully edentulous and terminal dentition patients were enrolled for r-CAIS technology. Based on the cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) examination, a customized positioning marker and a preoperative surgical plan were created before surgery. During the implant surgery, the implant osteotomy and placement were automatically performed using an autonomous robotic surgery system under the surgeon's supervision. A postoperative CBCT scan was used to determine the discrepancies between the planned and placed implants. Results: Ten patients with 59 implants underwent autonomous robotic surgery. No adverse surgical events occurred. The deviations of global coronal, global apical, and angular were 0.67 ± 0.37 mm (95% CI: 0.58–0.77 mm), 0.69 ± 0.37 mm (95% CI: 0.59–0.78 mm), and 1.27° ± 0.59° (95% CI: 1.42°–1.11°), respectively. Conclusions: The autonomous r-CAIS technology proved an accurate surgical approach for implant placement in fully edentulous patients due to the control of the angular deviation. Autonomous robotic surgery seems promising as an accurate technology for treating fully edentulous patients. However, further trials are required to provide more hard clinical evidence.