Guided Implant Placement Supported by CEREC®

Recent advances in technology have made implantology an increasingly attractive treatment option for both dentists and patients.

For patients, CEREC technology and 3D imaging have been instrumental for increased treatment plan acceptance by providing a detailed overview of their specific procedure. Dentists who use a CEREC and a 3D Imaging System can expand their treatment capabilities by seamlessly integrating implants into their practice in four steps: Scan, Plan, Place, Restore.

1. Scan Capture highly detailed X-ray images of your patient’s mouth from many different angles and levels of magnification using a 3D imaging system. This degree of flexibility makes for a much easier planning phase of the implant procedure by allowing you to see the patient’s teeth, bones, nerves, tissues and airways. After taking the X-ray, intraoral scanning is made simple with CEREC Omnicam. The slim design allows for maximum comfort for the user, ease of movement in the intraoral space, and captures lifelike 3D images of the affected area. CEREC and 3D imaging together provide essential information to make a truly reliable diagnosis.

2. Plan The 3D X-ray images and the intraoral impressions gathered in the scanning phase can be combined in the GALILEOS Implant software. Soft tissue and surgically relevant details, including a color visualization of the nerve canal, and a depiction of the available bone structure, are visible on screen. This information enables the precise positioning and alignment of the implant, setting the stage for a safe and minimally-invasive procedure.

A detailed implant plan not only provides you with the above clinical benefits, but offers an invaluable benefit to the patient as well. Showing your patient a 3D visual of their mouth can further educate them about a procedure in which they are likely unfamiliar, and provide an added degree of confidence that the proposed treatment is both necessary and optimal for their oral health, increasing the likelihood of treatment plan acceptance.

With this portion of the implant plan determined, a surgical guide is designed for a precise fit with the chosen implant and position. Using a CEREC milling unit, a CEREC Guide 2 can be produced chairside. This is the most cost-effective and efficient way to manufacture a surgical drilling template in-house, enabling you to make single tooth surgical guides in less than one hour. Alternatively, a SICAT lab can produce the guide (DIGITALGUIDE or SICAT OPTIGUIDE) or provide a file that can be 3D printed by the user.

3. Place Using your custom fabricated surgical guide, you can be confident that the implant will be perfectly aligned, at the right position and exactly at the planned level. This makes for a placement that’s minimally invasive, safe and eliminates unnecessary stresses for both doctor and patient.

4. Restore After capturing the scans, composing the treatment plan and placing the implant, design and produce the screw-retained crown, or another appropriate crown, and custom abutment in-house. With CEREC, you can produce single and multi-unit restorations with either the CEREC MC X or CEREC MC XL Practice Lab milling unit, significantly decreasing lab fees. Choose from various innovative materials for the restoration, including zirconia if using the CEREC SpeedFire sintering furnace. The result is an optimal esthetic design matched to the individual patient’s treatment plan, crafted with the highest level of integrity.

CEREC and 3D imaging units provide the technical foundation for performing implant cases regardless of your core specialty.

This article was originally published in Sidekick Magazine.