Aim: the aim of this in vitro study was to test whether the implant placement accuracy and the operating time can be influenced by the operator's experience.
Materials and methods: sixteen models underwent a (Cone Beam Computer Tomography) CBCT and implant positioning was digitally planned on this. The models were randomly assigned to four operators with different levels of surgical experience. One hundred and twelve implant sites were drilled using a dynamic navigation system and operating times were measured. Based on postoperative CBCTs, dental implants were virtually inserted and superimposed over the planned ones. Two-dimensional and 3D deviations between planned and virtually inserted implants were measured at the entry point and at the apical point. Angular and vertical errors were also calculated.
Results: considering coronal and apical 3D deviations, no statistically significant differences were found between the four operators (p = 0.27; p = 0.06). Some vectorial components of the deviation at the apical point and the angular errors of some operators differed from each other.
Conclusions: within the limitations of this study, dynamic navigation can be considered a reliable technique both for experienced and novice clinicians.
Keywords: computer-guided implantology; dental implants; dynamic navigation; image-guided surgery.