Main

van der Zel J M. J Prosthodont 2008; 17: 476–481

A surgical guide should 1) guarantee that an implant is idealy positioned, 2) take into account the soft tissues that overlie the recipient bed, and 3) ensure that there is sufficient vertical space to accommodate the reconstruction. The surgical guide that is described in this paper fulfils these criteria. The method of fabrication involves forming, on a gypsum cast, a polyvinylacetate template containing radio opaque markers, which is used in both the scanning and imaging procedures. The cast is then optically scanned in order to map the mucosal surface, and a replica of the opposing teeth to establish the amount of vertical space. The recipient site, is imaged using a cone-beam CT scanner. A virtual implant is then selected by reference to the bone scan, the mucosal surface and opposing teeth, all combined in one 3D view. Finally, customised guides, are fabricated to accommodate the surgical drills.