Background: Viability of the harvested bone during osteotomy preparation is affected by the generated heat, which in turn is related to drilling speed and time; this bone viability is considered an indicator of the quality of the harvested autograft.
Study objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of two different drilling speeds on bone cell viability of bone harvested during osteotomy preparation.
Materials and methods: A split mouth randomized controlled clinical trial was carried out on 8 patients, 16 mandibular premolar /molar edentulous ridge sites, using a trephine bur,
8 osteotomies were drilled using a speed of 1000 rpm (Control Group) and the other 8 using 400 rpm (Test Group), implants were placed, the harvested bone viability was evaluated histologically in both groups.
Results: The histological assessment revealed better viability features in samples harvested using 1000 rpm (Control Group).
Conclusion: Drilling at 1000 rpm seems to yield stronger autologous bone viability than drilling at 400 rpm.