A Novel Double-Guide Kit To Preserve The Keratinized Mucosa

To introduce a novel double-guide kit in order to preserve the keratinized mucosa for patients receiving mucosa-supported guided surgery. Six patients planned to receive full-arch guided implantation were randomly divided into the control group and double-guide kit group, receiving different operations. Patients in control group were performed common guided implantation with mucosa-supported guides, while double guide kits for another group.The kit includes one fixation-pin guide and one working guide, sharing a common design of the fixation pins. The surgeons were allowed to make incisions based on the remaining keratinized mucosa and elevate the full-thickness flap during the surgery. Fully guided osteotomy and implant placement were performed. The loss of keratinized mucosa is defined as the difference between the width during implantation and 3 months postsurgery. All implants healed successfully. The accuracy analysis showed no obvious difference between the two groups. The loss of keratinized mucosa for control and double-guide kit group is 1.90mm and 0.96mm at buccal side, while 1.63mm and 0.55mm at lingual side respectively. This novel double-guide kit can effectively preserve the keratinized mucosa, meanwhile achieving acceptable accuracy. The protocol introduced may be beneficial for edentulous patients in need of mucosa-supported guided surgery.