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Osteotomes used in dental implantation

Bernhard Heine's osteotome

Component parts of the osteotome, and the instrument in use

An osteotome is an instrument used for cutting or preparing bone.

The instrument was invented by Bernhard Heine, a German physician in Würzburg, in 1830. Heine's invention was used as a bone saw, especially for opening the skull. It was a kind of chain saw moved by turning a winder. Heine's osteotome is no longer used in surgery.

Today osteotomes are used in dental implantation. With the osteotome technique, osteoplastic procedures have been developed in which the bone quality (compaction of local bone) and bone quantity (ridge extension in horizontal and vertical dimension) are routinely improved and adequate primary stability of the implants can be ensured with a high degree of predictability.

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