Surgical Trauma in Dental Implants

Heat produced during the time of drilling, elevation from the periosteal flap and excessive pressure in the crestal region throughout implant positioning may lead to implant bone loss throughout the recovery.

Heat generation and excessive pressure

Eriksson and Albrektsson reported the critical temperature for implant site preparation was 47 degrees Celcius for just one minute or 40 degrees Celcius for seven minutes. Matthews and Hirsch shown that temperature elevation was affected more through the pressure applied than drill speed. When both drill speed and applied pressure were elevated, no significant rise in temperature was observed because of efficient cutting.

Sharawy et al. in comparison the heat produced through the drills of 4 different implant systems run at speeds of just 1,225, 1,667 and 2,500 revoltions per minute. All the drill systems could prepare an 8 mm site with no temperature rising by a lot more than 4 Celcius (to 41 Celcius).
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