A GPS for Your Handpiece
Foundation-funded research leads to FDA approval for a novel endodontic surgical guidance application
Two independently conducted studies by Dr. Frederico Canato Martinho and his research group at the University of Maryland, and funded by Foundation for Endodontics Competitive Research Grants, were instrumental in leading to FDA approval of a new software application for a “dynamic navigation system” (DNS) customized for endodontic treatments.
A third study, published in the International Endodontic Journal , demonstrated similar effectiveness when conducting root-end resection in cadaver models. Just as DNS can more accurately help guide endodontic procedures, Dr. Martinho also predicts that the innovation, derived from robotic surgical equipment, could reshape endodontic training in the future. “There is a great chance for this technology to help residents’ education, too,” he says.
The X-Nav Technologies platform, originally developed for implant dentistry, was demonstrably more accurate and efficient than freehand based on CBCT virtual modelling, thanks to tracking devices that provide 3D dynamic navigation, with visual feedback to guide the handpiece and allow the surgeon to adjust the treatment course in real time. The technology in effect shows “where you are compared to where you should be” on a CBCT-based virtual surgical plan and allows for course correction, versus trying to “replicate the ideal plan on the patient but with no guidance.” One study published in the Journal for Endodontics (JOE) in September 2021 compared DNS to freehand in removing fiber posts from endodontically treated teeth. A second study, funded by
a Foundation Resident Research Grant and published in the JOE in November 2020, demonstrated the benefits of DNS in locating calcified canals. “It’s like a GPS for your handpiece,” Dr. Martinho explains. “And I don’t see this technology being applied to only one treatment modality.”
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