Objectives: The accuracy of two commercially available systems for image-guided dental implant insertion based on infrared tracking cameras was compared with manual implantation.
Material and methods: Phantoms of partially edentulous mandibles were used. In a master phantom, pilot boreholes for dental implants were placed. These boreholes were reproduced in slave phantoms using either of the two image-guided systems and manual implantation. The resulting positions were determined using a coordinate measurement machine and compared with the master model.
Results: In comparison with manual implantation, the difference of borehole positions to the master phantom was significantly lower using either of the systems for image-guided implant insertion.
Conclusion: Image-guided insertion of dental implants is significantly more accurate than manual insertion. However, the accuracy that can be achieved with manual implantation is sufficient for most clinical situations.