Efficacy of Novel Digital-Based Surgical Guide in the Limited Interocclusal Distance

Accurate implant placement is essential for achieving successful outcomes. To aid in this, digitally designed surgical guides have been introduced. Both closed-sleeve and open-sleeve designs are commonly utilized. However, the closed-sleeve design has limitations with restricted interocclusal distance, interference with irrigation, and limited visibility, while the open-sleeve design is known to be less accurate. To address these limitations, a new slope-sleeve design was introduced. This design reduces the interocclusal distance requirement compared to the closed-sleeve design and provides improved accuracy. A constraint model with a 31 mm interocclusal distance was created, and three types of surgical guides (closed, open, and slope), printed using either a PolyJet or Digital Light Processing (DLP) 3D printer, were tested on resin bone blocks. Horizontal and angular deviations were measured for the accuracy of each guide after drilling, with data analyzed using one-way ANOVA and independent <i>t</i>-tests. The slope-sleeve design showed significantly lower horizontal and angular deviations in wide-sized guides. Additionally, PolyJet-printed guides showed higher accuracy compared to DLP-printed guides. The slope-sleeve guide offers enhanced stability and precision in restricted interarch spaces. When coupled with high-precision 3D printing technologies like PolyJet, the slope-sleeve design provides a reliable solution for improving implant placement accuracy in challenging clinical scenarios.