Drilling is one of the most innovative methods introduced in dentistry. It’s a boon for patients and dentists too because it has made dental procedures easier. Also, provided ease of working for the dental person. 

When we consider dental implants, a bone profile drillplays an important role. It helps to set an implant and a tooth in an appropriate position. But as with every successful treatment, it also consists of some risks. Don’t worry, we have top-notch solutions for that.  

This guide consists of everything you need to know about bone profile drills, the factors responsible for their failure, and tips to reduce the failing risks of a drill.

Read Article: Affordable Dental Care: Where To Find It And How To Save?

What Are Bone Profile Drills?

Let’s start from the basics.

Firstly, a bone is a connective tissue (calcified). It helps in forming one of the major portions of the body structure of most vertebrates. But when a bone fractures, sometimes it heals by itself, while sometimes it demands more approaches.

There are two most popular methods, one is the conventional method and the second is the direct method.

It includes immobilization and setting of the fractured parts. On the other side, the direct approach includes the internal fixation of a fractured area with the help of plates, immobilization screws, or wires. 

For conventional approaches, there is a limitation, which is that bone can’t align optimally. Well, in some cases, outside alignment is not possible, which is why healing takes more time. So, all these limitations are overcome by a direct approach. Here, bone drilling is a very common method of internal fixation during implantation. Well, the process of implantation requires a bone profiling drill and other equipment. It helps to remove any particles from the jaw, as well as make holes in the bone (if required). 

Factors Responsible For Failure Of Bone Profiling Drills  

1. Drilling Speed   

Drilling seed and feed rate affect the influence of a bone profile drill tool. Furthermore, axial drilling force has a greater impact on bone drilling temperature. Many researchers already described this in the interrelated terms of the drill speed.  

1. Drilling Parameters

Now, consider drilling parameters. It plays a vital role to control the generated temperature while drilling. In the last few years, many researchers have investigated this aspect for minimizing the chances of necrosis while drilling.

1. The Influence Of Coolant 

Many researchers have found that there are many effects of coolant on bone drilling for orthopedic surgery. It is because cooling is an important factor that significantly lowers the temperature-induced while drilling. Well, there are 2 processes used for cooling; internal cooling and external cooling. 

1. Drilling Energy

Well, it is the energy that is expended to produce a hole. Also, drilling energy is proportional to the total amount of heat generated while drilling. On the other hand, lower cutting energy is related to less thermal or residual damage (like necrosis and cracks) in a cutting area.  

High energy consumed will lead to a high rise in the temperature while drilling. The greater the force induced higher will be the drilling energy needed for producing holes.  

According to the researchers, there is a study on the calculation of energy while performing bone drilling methods. They have found that:

The energy which is used for material removal gets converted to heat.

• Jacob and Berry examined the thrust and the torque while using different drills at different feed rates and speeds. So, they have found that at a low rotational speed mostly the forces are higher.
• Wiggins and Malkin, 1976 completed an experimental investigation. It was on a bone profile drilling by using various drill bits (different diameters). So, the drilling behavior was measured (in terms of torque rate, specific energy, and feed rate). But the result was that the drill bit clogging caused a substantial rise in the drilling torque, so it increased particularly cutting energy. There were no results on the temperature-generated measurements.
• Abouzgia and James researched the force effects on the consumed energy. They used forces between 1.5 to 9.0 N. on the other hand, for free-running speeds it was 20,000 rpm to 100,000 rpm. So, the result was that a high drilling speed having a large force is desirable due to a decrease in bone temperature. 

1. Thickness Of Cortical Bone And Drilling Depth

Well, the depth of drilling or thickness of cortical bone affects the temperature while using the bone profile drilling method. 

Cortical Bone Thickness 

Firstly, 24,38,39,43,48,54, and 56 are the frictional resistance provided by the cortical bone to the profiling drill. It causes a rise in the temperature. So, the greater the cortical thickness, the greater the depth of drilling. And it will lead to more friction or heat generation.  

Depth Of Drilling 

Now, let’s talk about the depth of drilling. The more the depth of drilling, the higher will be the temperature generated instead of any drilling conditions.    

Tips To Reduce The Risk Of Bone Profile Drill Failure  

As a dental person, you might be aware of the risks associated with bone profiling drills. So, below we have listed some tips to reduce failure possibilities.

1. Examine The Bone Quality Before implantation Procedure

Before you start implant site preparation for a patient, examine the bone quality. Suggest X-rays know the real condition of the tooth. Furthermore, preparation needs an in-depth knowledge of a patient’s bone quality. 

Don’t ever jump to the process of bone drilling before a thorough checkup. It’s a big challenge to know the bone quality while drilling. So, take your time and examine the reports of patients.

Well, this knowledge is very important because most of the time drilling protocol depends on the quality of bone. Also, conventional site preparation needs multiple drills having variable diameters. 

1. Pre-Planning For Implant Treatment 

Planning for your treatment is very important for a dental person. Before performing any treatment make a guide. It will help you to perform each step with ease. It includes many things like: 

• Checking the health of patients 
• Noting down the important procedure 
• Consider steps that should not be taken. 
• Providing medical suggestions to a patient. 
• Performing diagnosis  

1. Passive Fit

Oral hygiene is very important for success, so performing treatment on this basis will be great. Consider taking follow-ups with your patients about problems or their comfort.  

Aim for a gap-free and tension-free reconstruction, it will never lead to failure in a bone profile drill. Sometimes screw loosening or vertical bone loss results in a peri-implant complication. In the end, don’t forget to take follow-ups from your patients about passive fittings. 

1. Primary Stability And Implant Torque  

Well, the next step is choosing the implant by itself. It is affected by the implant site preparation and quality of bone. 

Also, the choice of implant and site preparation of implant influences the primary stability of a dental procedure. So, to reduce the risk of bone profiling drill failure, a high torque value is viewed as a positive point for immediate loading.  

Last Words 

Are you ready to perform a dental procedure? Well, this guide might be helpful for you in many ways. We hope this article will assist you to perform surgery with more knowledge and make informed decisions.

Always consider your patients and their oral health before any procedure. Also, take the required steps to eliminate the risk of bone profiling drill failure.

All the best for the next procedure!