Effects of implant drill wear, irrigation, and drill materials on heat generation in osteotomy sites

This study evaluated the effects of drill wear on bone temperature during osteotomy preparation with 3 types of drills and compared heat production between drills. The drills used in this study were titanium nitride-coated metal, tungsten carbide carbon-coated metal, and zirconia ceramic drills. An osteotomy 11 mm in depth was formed in bovine scapular bone following the manufacturer's recommended drill sequences. Drilling was performed without irrigation and repeated 20 times; temperature was measured every 5 times. Next, 200 rounds of drilling during irrigation were performed for each drill, with temperature change monitored until round 200. Analysis of variance statistics were used for analyses of the measured data. Drilling without irrigation showed significant thermal increase at all time points compared to drilling with irrigation (P < .001). No significant difference was found between drill materials. Under irrigation, the frequency of previous drilling had minimal effects on thermal change. The repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed major thermal change at the initial time point (P < .0001), and the multiple comparison tests revealed a significant difference in temperature between the initial drills that had been used 50 or fewer times and those that had been used more than 50 times, irrespective of the drill material. The results of this study indicate that the initial drill should be changed in osteotomy preparation with irrigation after they have been used 50 times. Irrigation may be a more critical factor for the control of temperature elevation than is the drill material.