Purpose: To investigate the influence of different education approaches on the implantation performance (operation time, three-dimensional deviation) of inexperienced operators.
Methods: Eighteen students who met the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to traditional training group or digital training group. After training, the average operation time and implant deviation (platform deviation, apex deviation, and angle deviation) of the two groups were calculated by Student's t-test. A self-developed questionnaire was used to evaluate the students' grasp of clinical knowledge and skill.
Result: Compared with the traditional training group, the duration of implant installation and temporary prosthesis placement of the digital training group decreased significantly (p < 0.05). The implant deviation of the digital training group was lower than that of the traditional training group. The apex deviation (p = 0.015) and angle deviation (p = 0.015) significantly improved with digital training, but differences in platform deviation (p = 0.065) were not statistically significant. The questionnaire survey showed that the overall perception of the inexperienced operators in the digital training group was better than that in the traditional training group.
Conclusion: In the hands of inexperienced operators, digital training reduced the operation time and improved the implant accuracy in comparison with traditional training.
Keywords: digital technology; freehand; implant surgery; implant teaching; surgery guide.
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