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Dental Products Report | April 2009 The ultrasonic advantage Piezo ultrasonic surgery offers numerous advantages over traditional techniques, and the easy-to-use technology is ideal for general practitioners looking to add implant services to their practices. The set-up “Among the many things technology can do for us is make our practices easier and less stressful. To that end, Dr. Joyce Warwick provides some keen insight into using ultrasonics for surgery. While many doctors routinely use the technology for perio and endo procedures, this article provides a good overview of ultrasonic applications for surgical extractions and ridge preservation for implant dentistry. Read on to see how ultrasonics could be the thing you’re missing.” —Dr. John Flucke, Team Lead Ultrasonic bone surgery was one of the first technologies I incorporated when I added implant services to my general practice. Before I could place an implant, I often had to remove a tooth. Most of the teeth I removed were severely broken down with little tooth structure remaining. Formerly, these were the types of teeth I would have referred to a specialist for removal and bone grafting, but with my commitment to adding implant services, I had to obtain the instruments and skills that would allow me to sever the periodontal ligament and tease a tooth out of the socket without damaging the all important facial plate. Ultrasonic attraction I was drawn to the technology of using ultrasonic energy to open the periodontal ligament space quickly and easily with the least trauma to the bone. Using a periotome tip on a piezo ultrasonic bone surgery unit, this job can be done more quickly and easily than using hand instruments alone. I’ve learned piezo ultrasonic surgery is useful for a range of applications (see “Applying ultrasonics," right). The technology has existed for some time and there are several piezo ultrasonic units available using this technology that have loyal and enthusiastic users. I am most familiar with Mectron SpA’s Piezosurgery® Good vibrations The machines are all similar in that they use a high-frequency back-and-forth movement of the various tips with constant irrigation to cut bone, section teeth or lift the sinus membrane. The Piezotome uses a frequency of 28kHz-36kHz, which auto adjusts according to the tip’s acoustic response. The vibration amplitude is also adjustable in the range of 30-60 µm. This allows constant and instantaneous adaptation of the power required depending on the resistance encountered by the tip. The Piezosurgery operates at a high frequency of 25kHz-29kHz modulated with a low frequency of 10-60 Hz with linear vibrations of the tips between 60 and 210 µm horizontally and a 20-60 µm in a vertical motion. The handpiece makes use of 5W of power to easily cut bone. Beside tips for preparing bone, these versatile units also come with tips to perform periodontal scaling, endodontics and other procedures. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
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