CBCT-based dental implant planning and surgical guides solve surgical and prosthetic challenges

Drilling an osteotomy poses two challenges for the surgeon:

1. Surgical: the hole must be positioned in sufficient bone to hold the implant
2. Prosthetic: the implant must be correctly aligned with the position of the future tooth to restore it correctly

To meet these challenges, doctors can obtain 3D data of a patient’s jawbone (typically through a CT scan), import the data into implant planning software, and virtually place the implant in the correct position. The CT scan-based surgical plan is then used to make a surgical guide for that specific patient/case.

Literature has shown that CBCT-based implant planning and surgical guides offer advantages to the surgeon, restorative dentist, and patient. Implants are placed where planned, in the ideal location, leading to improved surgical confidence, outcomes, and esthetic results. And many doctors have adopted guided surgery for all of their cases.

Benefits of CT-based guided surgery include, but are not limited to:

• Restorative-driven surgery: Implant placement is pre-operatively agreed to by the surgeon and restorative dentist
• Accurate placement: Implants are placed where planned, leading to improved surgical outcomes and aesthetic results
• Lower liability: costly surgical mistakes (i.e., perforating the side of the jawbone or sinus, or damaging the mandibular nerve) are minimized because patient anatomy is known
• Sub-gingival knowledge and planning provide a better, more predictable, surgical experience
  • Enter surgery with less stress and more confidence, knowing fewer anatomical “surprises” await
  • More trust in a flapless protocol, which provides a more painless patient experience and recovery
  • Potentially spend less time in surgery
  • Minimize intraoperative radiography (“check films”)

However, surgical guidance is no substitute for experience and good judgment. No matter how confident a doctor is in their treatment plan, they must still assess the placement of the surgical guide and implant in vivo.

Research has shown that 3-D treatment planning provides the clinician with a greater depth of information than traditional models, and that CT-based surgical guides are more accurate than free hand drilling as well as more accurate than conventional surgical guides.

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About Guided Surgery Solutions, LLC
Guided Surgery Solutions, LLC designs, manufactures, and sells 3D image-based surgical guides for dental implant surgery. The ThinLayer^® Drill Guide System was developed in the founder’s clinical practice, in response to design limitations found in existing products. The solution makes guided surgery technically and economically feasible for all implant surgeons, allowing them to provide better treatment to more patients. Please visit www.guidedsurgerysolutions.com for more information.