Internal Bone Temperature Change During Guided Surgery Preparations for Dental Implants: An In Vitro Study

The aim of this pig model study was to verify whether the use of devices (surgical templates) or procedures (flapless or flap) of guided surgery may cause a potentially pathologic increase of temperature during the bone preparation.In this in vitro study, pig ribs with mean cortical thickness of 1.90 mm were used. Open-flap and flapless guided surgery (experimental groups OGS and FGS) and open-flap and flapless conventional technique (control groups OSS and OFS) were performed. Temperature changes were recorded at a distance of 0.5 mm from the final test osteotomy by 2 thermocouples at depths of 1.5 (point A) and 12 mm (point B). Data were collected from 80 measurements, 10 for each group.A statistically significant increase of temperature was reported for the FGS and OGS groups considering the measurement at point A (mean Δt 4.81 degrees and 4.21 degrees, respectively). The measurement at Point B for the FGS group compared to the FSS group did not differ significantly for the 3-mm drill, nor did the OSS group with the 2-mm drill.Site preparation with surgical stents generated higher bone temperature than conventional drilling. However, this heat generation did not reach temperature levels dangerous for the bone.