Surgical template for completely edentulous patients

Implant angulation is of utmost importance for fabrication of esthetic, hygienic, and functional prostheses, even in the treatment of completely edentulous patients. Most mandibular surgical templates are not reliable because of a lack of stability resulting either from severe resorption of the mandible or from the interference of mucoperiosteal flaps elevated during surgery. This article describes a technique for fabrication and surgical application of a stable template for the completely edentulous mandible. By combining the mandibular template with a maxillary duplicate denture, the problem of lack of stability can be overcome. A consistently reliable reference for implant placement in the edentulous mandible, specifically in relation to implant angulation (trajectory), can be obtained.