title: Piezosurgery in implant dentistry.
abstract: Piezosurgery, or the use of piezoelectric devices, is being applied increasingly in oral and maxillofacial surgery. The main advantages of this technique are precise and selective cuttings, the avoidance of thermal damage, and the preservation of soft-tissue structures. Through the application of piezoelectric surgery, implant-site preparation, bone grafting, sinus-floor elevation, edentulous ridge splitting or the lateralization of the inferior alveolar nerve are very technically feasible. This clinical overview gives a short summary of the current literature and outlines the advantages and disadvantages of piezoelectric bone surgery in implant dentistry. Overall, piezoelectric surgery is superior to other methods that utilize mechanical instruments. Handling of delicate or compromised hard- and soft-tissue conditions can be performed with less risk for the patient. With respect to current and future innovative surgical concepts, piezoelectric surgery offers a wide range of new possibilities to perform customized and minimally invasive osteotomies.
authors.affiliation: Hightech Research Center of Cranio-maxillofacial Surgery, University of Basel, Allschwil, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stübinger
authors.affiliation: Private Practice, Konstanz, Germany.
authors.forename: Andres
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stricker
authors.affiliation: Department of Cranio-maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland ; Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Britt-Isabelle
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Berg
keywords: bone grafting; edentulous ridge splitting; implantology; maxillary sinus elevation; osteotomy; piezoelectric device; piezosurgery