Discover how modern digital implant dentistry is being revolutionized through digital workflows. The main objective of restorative dentistry is to create individual and aesthetically pleasing restorations with a favorable long-term functional prognosis.
Modern oral implantology (digital dental implant dentistry) and implant prosthetics depend on comprehensive diagnostics and precise planning to ensure the desired outcome and meet the patient’s and the dentist’s expectations. Digital implant-prosthetic planning provides a variety of interesting perspectives in terms of diagnostics, individual treatment planning and exact surgical and prosthetic implementation, if the right preconditions exist.
What is Digital Dental Implant Dentistry?
- Digital dental implantology is a modern approach in dental care that uses digital technology and software to plan and perform dental implant surgeries.
- It uses advanced imaging modalities such as cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) and intraoral scanners.
- By analyzing digital data, clinicians can precisely plan implant placement, taking into account bone density, anatomy, and aesthetics.
- With 3D technology, implants can be precisely tailored to fit the patient’s bone size, eliminating the need for unnecessary bone cutting or sutures. The procedure is performed using computer simulation and minimal incisions, resulting in less pain.
- Recovery time is significantly reduced, along with a lowered risk of bleeding, infection, and swelling. Plus, placing a single implant takes just 10 to 20 minutes.
- This procedure is safe for patients with diabetes and hypertension, as it is minimally invasive and delivers predictable, faster results. With reduced surgical trauma, it also minimizes complications and enhances overall treatment efficiency.
DATA ACQUISITION, PROCESSING AND SURGICAL PLATE FABRICATION
- Digital implant planning requires three-dimensional radiograph data (DICOM: digital imaging and communications in medicine) as well as STL data (STL: standard tesselation language) from an intraoral scan.
- STL data of the intraoral clinical situation in the form of an intraoral or model scan are required.
- The surgical template is generated based on the two data sets which are imported into the implant planning software and superimposed.
- The information inherent in the existing bone situation can be used to select a suitable implant size along with the vertical position of the implant in relation to the adjacent teeth can be accommodated at this planning stage.
IMPLANT SURGERY
- At the time of implant surgery, the correct position of the surgical template in the mouth is verified.
- This is followed by guided preparation of the implant site according to a standardized drilling protocol defined by the implant system used.
- Surgical templates can be supported either by teeth, bone, or mucosa.
CONCLUSION
Digital Dental Implant planning and guided implant surgery offer many advantages in terms of optimized surgical and prosthetic treatment preparation and their predictable and successful implementation. In terms of overall accuracy, guided implant surgery seems to be superior to the conventional approach. Disadvantages of this method are its higher cost and the need for special expertise.
