Navigation in oral surgery: a systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: Dynamic navigation is a fast-growing technology in the field of head and neck surgery, which is now taking its place in oral surgery. The aim of this review was to present and describe all the uses of navigation in oral surgery. Materials and methods: A systematic review was conducted using all clinical trial/cases reports (Embase/PubMed) in which navigation is used during oral surgery, published over the last 5 yr. A total of 32 clinical trial/cases reports were analyzed. Results: Dynamic navigation was used in 7 different indications: implantology (55%), foreign body removal (15%), dental avulsion (12%), bone augmentation (9%), cellulitis (3%), benign tumour (3%), pre-prosthetic surgery (3%). A total of 335 patients were treated, 631 implants, 8 foreign bodies, 1 benign tumour, 24 dental avulsions, 3 bone augmentations, 1 cellulitis, and 1 pre-prosthetic surgery were found. In implantology, there were 500 standard implants, 75 zygomatic implants, 31 pterygoid implants, 1 short implant and 24 angulated implants. Conclusion: This review showed the recent development of dynamic navigation in oral surgery. The most common indication is dental implantology and few others indications seemed promising. This technique broadened its scope and might become an indispensable tool that can be used in many situations, increasing safety and predictability of a lot of procedure.