Abstract
BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: The increasing importance of computer assisted implant surgery (CAIS) in the practice of implant dentistry calls for adequate education and training of clinicians. However, limited evidence exists to support optimal educational strategies and best practices. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of distributed training with dynamic CAIS (d-CAIS) on the precision of freehand implant placement by inexperienced operators. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Six senior undergraduate dental students underwent simulation training in freehand implant surgery (5 implants) followed by distributed training in d-CAIS (6 implants). A final assessment of freehand implant placement (5 implants) was conducted thereafter. Outcomes were compared to a benchmark set by an experienced surgeon who repeated the same simulation exercises. Total surgical time and implant placement precision were recorded. RESULTS: The average precision of implant placement improved significantly after the d-CAIS training for novice operators. 3D platform deviation (1.63 ± 0.85 vs 0.92 ± 0.23; P < 0.001), 3D apical deviation (1.93 ± 0.88 vs 1.21 ± 0.19; P < 0.001), and angular deviation (5.27 ± 2.30 vs 2.74 ± 1.37; P < 0.001). The students achieved platform deviation comparable to this of the expert, but lagged in angle, apex precision, and total surgical time. CONCLUSION: Short-term, distributed simulation training with d-CAIS can significantly enhance the precision of freehand implant placement by novice operators. However, novice operators still lagged at certain aspects of precision and surgical time when compared with the performance of an experienced surgeon in the same setup.