Computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing surgical guidance for placement of dental implants: case report

Dental implant rehabilitation faces increasing prosthetic and esthetic demands, requiring precise surgical planning and placement. Presurgical treatment evaluation can now be accomplished using 3-dimensional computed tomography imaging. Although software has been developed to assist in implant selection and localization, transferring this information to the surgical field has remained a difficult task. Over the last few years, computer-aided design and manufacturing have made it possible to use data from computed tomography in order to transfer virtual implant placement to the surgery. One of these techniques utilizes a small computer-driven drilling mechanism that transfers implant planning on a laboratory model. This novel approach may be advantageous once available in dental laboratories and/or offices. This report presents the method and, for the first time, illustrates it with a fully edentulous advanced clinical case. Resulting clinical benefits over traditional procedures are discussed.