Training outcomes of novice clinicians in the use of dynamic computer assisted implant surgery: A prospective comparative study

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