The use of a custom template for immediate loading with the definitive prosthesis: a clinical report

A new approach to implant dentistry for the fully edentulous arch is presented. Using a conventional computer tomography scan and specialized surgical planning software, a fixed final prosthesis is fabricated before the surgical procedure so the prosthesis may be delivered immediately after the implants are placed. Initial prospective studies of 10 patients with observation times of up to 24 months have shown all patients to have a functional prostheses. Long-term studies are being performed to validate this new procedure.