Software tools and surgical guides in dental-implant-guided surgery

Cone beam computed tomography has become an essential tool in the diagnosis and planning for implant dentistry. New hardware and software developments have emerged to help implant surgeons to successfully adopt and use different systems in patients requiring prosthetically driven implant dentistry. However, there is the need to develop an adequate planning protocol that includes appropriate acquisition/data manipulation, appropriate use of software tools for interpretation, and appropriate application of such systems during implant surgery. This article examines essential characteristics of the entire implant-guided surgery planning process and points out potential sources of error that could affect clinical accuracy outcomes.