Streamlining dental implant placement with immersive reality technology

Immersive reality could assist clinicians with dental implant placement.

In a preliminary clinical report published in The Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry, researchers detailed the potential use of two immersive reality technologies — augmented reality with head-mounted display and mixed reality with a see-through tablet display — in preoperative and intraoperative dental implant placement.

The researchers noted that the mixed reality strategy required registration software designed for a tablet display in order to properly align the digital elements. Despite creating a three-dimensional reference environment, continuous re-registration was needed. In addition, the light applied during surgery affected the software performance and interfered with the tracking of the infrared point-of-interest dots. Conversely, the augmented reality strategy was designed for a head-mounted display, allowing for two- and three-dimensional data to be visualized in the clinician’s field of view. The researchers indicated that augmented reality provided the clinicians with the ability to access patient data in a convenient way and sterile environment; however, the head-mounted display could disconnect the clinicians from the real environment and cause spatial discordance in a way that the tablet display may not.

Further, the use of immersive reality technologies allowed for less invasive surgery, avoidance of iatrogenic damage and potentially higher accuracy. Although the findings could lead to the development of innovative dental applications, mixed reality may need to be optimized prior to its widespread implementation in a clinical setting.

Read more: The Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry

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