{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,28]],"date-time":"2026-01-28T08:38:09Z","timestamp":1769589489086,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,27]],"date-time":"2026-01-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769472000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/zero\/1.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100023674","name":"Deanship of Scientific Research, King Khalid University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["RGP1\/3\/46"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RGP1\/3\/46"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100023674","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"\n Background<\/jats:title>\n Partial edentulism poses challenges to oral function, aesthetics, and quality of life. Implant placement techniques\u2014freehand, pilot-drilled, and fully guided\u2014differ in accuracy, surgical time, and outcomes. In this study, only one predefined index implant per patient was analyzed to avoid confounding from multi-implant cases, and template fabrication for the pilot-drilled group was performed using diagnostic wax-up and thermoplastic material. This study evaluated these techniques in partially edentulous patients.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n Ninety patients were randomly assigned to three groups: freehand (n\u2009=\u200930), pilot- drilled (n\u2009=\u200930), and fully guided (n\u2009=\u200930). Surgery duration, implant placement accuracy, post- operative complications, early implant failure rates, and patient satisfaction were measured. Accuracy was assessed using standardized CBCT imaging at 12 months, and satisfaction was evaluated via a validated questionnaire six months after prosthetic loading.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n The fully guided technique demonstrated superior accuracy (p\u2009<\u20090.001), shorter surgical times (45 minutes vs. 60 and 75 minutes, p\u2009<\u20090.01), fewer complications (5% vs. 15% and 20%, p\u2009<\u20090.05), and higher satisfaction (9.2\/10, p\u2009<\u20090.01). Early implant failure, defined at the implant level, occurred in 4\/30 implants (13.3%) in the freehand group, 0\/30 in the pilot-drilled group, and 2\/30 in the fully guided group (p\u2009<\u20090.05).<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n Fully guided implant surgery outperformed other techniques in accuracy, efficiency, and patient satisfaction. These findings support fully guided, prosthetically driven workflows as a preferred option for partially edentulous patients, particularly in cases requiring high precision.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0341894","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,27]],"date-time":"2026-01-27T18:38:14Z","timestamp":1769539094000},"page":"e0341894","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The efficacy of freehand, pilot drilled and fully guided implant surgery in partially edentulous patients: A randomized control trial"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Abdulkhaliq Ali F.","family":"Alshadidi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lujain Ibrahim N.","family":"Aldosari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Abdullah Hasan 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