Evaluation of Change in Radiographic Fractal Dimension around Dental Implants Placed with Low-Speed Drilling and Standard Drilling Protocols

Abstract

Osseointegration is a process that depends on a multitude of factors, including the type of drilling, whether biological or conventional. Objective: Establish box-counting dimension values for radiological images in patients with implants placed with both drilling methods. Material and method: The sample included 129 implants corresponding to 50 patients. A double-blind study of data collection was carried out with the subsequent analysis of the fractal dimension as a comparative value of the state of the trabecular architecture. Results: We found no significant differences (p ≥ 0.05) between the two study groups comparing both drilling techniques. The values for the conventional drilling technique are 0.24 ± 0.07 and for biological drilling: 0.19 ± 0.11 with a p-value of 0.767. Conclusions: The drilling technique does not influence the success of the procedure and the osseointegration process.

Keywords

• fractal dimension
• bone trabeculation
• bone density
• dental implantology
• cone beam computed tomography
• orthopantomography