Traditionally, osseous surgery has been performed by either manual or motor-driven rotary instruments for many years. Manual instruments offer good control when used to remove small amounts of bone in areas with relatively less dense mineralization.

However, manual instruments are difficult to control in cortical bone, particularly where precise osteotomies are essential. As a consequence, they are mostly applied for the gross cutting of larger bone segments.

Motor-driven rotary instruments may be difficult to control during sensitive operations.
Piezosurgery is a relatively new device for osteotomy and osteoplasty that utilizes ultrasonic vibration. It is essentially an ultrasonic machine with modulated frequency and a controlled tip vibration range.

The piezosurgical equipment is used for bone cutting with great precision facilitating ridge augmentation and ridge expansion. It requires much less hand pressure resulting enhanced operator sensitivity and control so that the clinician can develop a better ‘feel’ due the micro vibration of the cutting tip.