To Compare the Two Implant Placement Protocols to Evaluate Placement Accuracy and Post-operative Healing of the Implant

March 30, 2026 updated by: Maria L. Geisinger, DDS, MS, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Assessment of Two Implant Placement Protocols to Evaluate Placement Accuracy and Post-Operative Healing

The goal of this study is to evaluate two commonly utilized surgical guide protocols to determine dental implant placement accuracy compared to pre-operative computerized planning, post-operative healing and bone levels to 12-months post-placement, and patient assessed post-operative discomfort and healing using a visual acuity scale (VAS).

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Detailed Description

This proposed study would allow us to assess the use of two intraoperative surgical guide protocols in common use in dental practice (matrix-based pilot drill guided and fully digital guided) for implant placement surgical procedure.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

40

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

  • Name: Sarah Startley, DMD
  • Phone Number: 205-975-8711
  • Email: ss1971@uab.edu

Study Contact Backup

  • Name: Maria Geisinger, DDS, MS
  • Phone Number: 205-934-4984
  • Email: miagdds@uab.edu

Study Locations

    • Alabama
      • Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 35294-0007
        • University of Alabama at Birmingham
        • Contact:
          • Sarah Startley, DMD
          • Phone Number: 205-975-8711
          • Email: ss1971@uab.edu
        • Contact:
          • Maria Geisinger, DDS, MS
          • Phone Number: 205-934-4984
          • Email: miagdds@uab.edu
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Maria L Geisinger, DDS, MS

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • English speaking
  • At least 18 years old
  • Must be a patient of the UAB Dental School
  • Able to read and understand informed consent document
  • Patients presenting with a single edentulous site planned for dental implant placement
  • Presence of periodontally healthy, non-carious neighboring teeth and/or healthy restored dental implants on either side of edentulous site planned for dental implant placement.
  • No anticipated need for surgical and/or endodontic care at teeth adjacent to the proposed surgical site during the study period.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Non-English speaking
  • Less than 18 years old
  • Smokers/tobacco users (>10 cigarettes/day)
  • Patients with systemic pathologies or conditions contraindicating oral surgical procedures or adversely affecting wound healing
  • Absence of adjacent teeth/implants on either side of the tooth to be extracted and/or edentulous sites where 2 or more adjacent implants are planned.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Pilot Drill Guide (PDG)
Matrix-based pilot drill guides fabricated using casts derived from digital wax ups of the proposed final restoration based upon initial implant planning and will be placed using the standard manufacturer's protocol.
Matrix-based pilot drill guides fabricated using casts derived from digital wax ups of the proposed final restoration based upon initial implant planning and will be placed using the standard manufacturer's protocol.
Experimental: Fully Guided (FG
3-D printed guides fabricated based upon digital wax ups and will be placed using the standard manufacturer's protocol and guided implant placement kits
3-D printed guides fabricated based upon digital wax ups and will be placed using the standard manufacturer's protocol and guided implant placement kits.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Implant placement deviation from computerized planning
Time Frame: 12 months
Implant placement deviation from computerized planning at 12-month post-placement using CBCT overlay measurement techniques.
12 months
Radiographic marginal bone loss
Time Frame: From baseline to 12 months
Radiographic marginal bone loss as measured using digital measurement tools and calibrated parallel two-dimensional radiographic images from baseline dental implant placement to 12-months post-implant placement
From baseline to 12 months
Patient centered outcomes using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS
Time Frame: 4 weeks
Patient centered outcomes including pain, bleeding, swelling, change in daily activities at 7, 14, and 30 days postoperatively, using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) This measurement ranges from 0-10 (0 being better and 10 being worse).
4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Maria L Geisinger, DDS, MS, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

June 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 30, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 30, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

April 6, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 30, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IRB-300016397
  • UAB Periodontology (Other Identifier: University of Alabama at Birmingham)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Data from this study will not be shared with other researchers outside of our research team.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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