Three-Dimensionally Printed Individual Drill Sleeve for Depth-Controlled Sections in Third Molar Surgery

Abstract

During surgical third molar removal and coronectomy procedures, tooth sectioning is an important and, in some cases, an inferior alveolar nerve-endangering step. This article introduces a drilling sleeve that was printed according to the individual tooth-sectioning situation preoperatively, using diagnostic cone-beam computed tomography data. Not only did the sleeve function in our case as a mark on the drill; it was also a reliable physical limiter, serving as a determinant of the required depth during tooth sectioning. This fast and cost-effectively produced drilling sleeve may help younger colleagues when the depth of tooth sections should be precisely controlled.