Novel digital imaging techniques to assess the outcome in oral rehabilitation with dental implants: a narrative review

Abstract

Most of the digital imaging techniques have not yet sufficiently been validated to be used for outcome measures in implant dentistry. In clinical research, cone beam CT (CBCT) is increasingly being used for 3D assessment of bone and soft tissue following augmentation procedures and implant placement. Currently, there are no effective methods for the reduction of artifacts around implants in CBCT. Optical scanning is being used for the 3D assessment of changes in the soft tissue contour. The combination of optical scan with pre-operative CBCT allows the determination of the implant position and its spatial relation to anatomical structures. Spectrophotometry is the method most commonly used to objectively assess the color match of reconstructions and peri-implant mucosa to natural dentition and gingiva. New optical imaging techniques may be considered possible approaches for monitoring peri-implant soft tissue health. MRI and ultrasonography appear promising non-ionizing radiation imaging modalities for the assessment of soft tissue and bone defect morphologies. Optical scanners and OCT may represent efficient clinical methods for accurate assessment of the misfit between the reconstructions and the implants.

Soft tissue augmentation at immediate implants using a novel xenogeneic collagen matrix in conjunction with immediate provisional restorations: A prospective case series

“…These results are in agreement with those reported in a 3‐year evaluation after immediate implantation, although they are in contrast with those published by Arora and co‐workers, that failed to find a correlation between pre‐operative buccal bone width and soft tissue aesthetic outcomes using PES scores. These discrepancies are likely to be related to the different methods of assessing the soft tissue changes, being the digital STL evaluation more likely to find any existing differences as it provides objective parameters on the changes in tissue position …”

Guided bone regeneration with particulate vs. block xenogenic bone substitutes: a pilot cone beam computed tomographic investigation

“…In clinical research, CBCT is increasingly being used for 3D assessment of bone and soft tissue following augmentation procedures and implant placement (Benic et al. ; Hammerle et al. ).…”

Clinical and radiographic intra‐subject comparison of implants placed with or without guided bone regeneration: 15‐year results

“…A recent review of the literature on digital methods for the assessment of outcomes in implant dentistry concluded that CBCT has the potential to allow accurate assessment of peri‐implant bone plates with a thickness >0.5 mm (Benic et al. ). In other words, in the present trial, the presence of thin buccal bone plates might have been underestimated.…”