Technology has advanced at a rapid pace in recent years and is constantly evolving, this being observed especially in the field of medicine and dentistry. A new form of technology that has led to many benefits for patients involves surgical guidelines for dental implants, which are the latest advances in the world of dental surgery and have revolutionized surgical processes in dentistry. That's why we thought of writing this article about the benefits of using surgical guidance in implatology.

The technology originally developed for neurosurgery, computer-guided surgery offers dentists several advantages, helping them to achieve implant insertion in a predictable and safe way. Despite the benefits, the number of dentists who choose to use this technology remains low. A study conducted in the United States shows that in 2019 in the US 31,000 surgical (dental) guides were used, an extremely small number compared to approx. 5,000,000 dental implants applied, meaning this innovative technology has been used in less than 1% of cases. Unfortunately, this percentage is even lower in the case of interventions carried out in Romania. Are you curious why this is happening? We will explain at the end of the article!

What is the surgical guide and how to use it?

Surgical guides represent the latest advances in dental implant technology, they guide the surgeon during the operation. It is a biocompatible resin mold and looks like a dental splint, with holes through which the implants will be inserted in the predetermined positions, optimal from a medical point of view. It is positioned on the dental arch and helps the specialist to insert the implant in the exact place, in the 3 axes, so as to provide the best functional and aesthetic result to the patient.

It is manufactured (made) in the dental laboratory on the basis of precise measurements, made on the fingerprint captured with the help of the intraoral scanner and on the 3D radiological image. These measurements are calculated using a computer-guided 3D implant planning system called R2Gate. A surgical guide reproduces the exact anatomical surfaces of the patient's oral cavity and helps the surgeon place the implants in the jawbone with unparalleled accuracy. Thus, the intervention is minimally invasive, the bleeding is reduced to a minimum, and the swelling in that area is imperceptible.

An evaluation of the patient's anatomy includes checking the position of the sinuses and mandibular nerves, determining bone density, height and thickness of the alveolar ridge. This helps choosing the type of implant , the best and most suitable for each patient. During the design phase, the position, depth and direction of the implant will be determined, as well as the shape of the prosthetic work, which will be placed on the implant. In other words, this guide looks like a map to determine the exact position of a dental implant.

Guided surgery helps our implantologists avoid misplacing the implant, thus increasing the success rate of this operation up to almost 100%! 

The intraoral scan used in this series of procedures is a recording that uses the triangulation method, with the help of a device that takes 3000 pictures per second and reproduces in 3D images all the teeth, the shape of the teeth and the position of the jaws.

4 advantages of digital planning in dental implantology:

Currently, thanks to the possibility of this surgical guidance, the patient is faced with the decision to accept the use of a guide or to choose the traditional way of working. From our perspective, this decision should be a very simple one, but we recommend each patient to discuss all their questions and concerns with the doctor who will perform the operation. In order to provide as much information as possible to those interested, we present some advantages of this technology:

1. Detailed treatment planning in advance helps to reduce or eliminate unexpected events during surgery and provides a predictable and predictable outcome. This gives patients certainty and reduces the level of stress felt before and during the procedure.
2. Digital planning eliminates the most common complications in implantology. These occur due to the wrong position of the implants, the masticatory forces not being distributed evenly, which leads to bone resorption around the implant and subsequently results in treatment failure.
3. Due to the use of surgical guidance, implant surgery is performed now, more accurately, safely and predictably than ever before. Its accuracy is given by the elimination of human errors, by digitizing the whole process. In most cases, the success of the implantation depends on their almost perfect insertion, with a margin of error of less than 1 mm in position and less than 3 degrees in the angle. This precision is very difficult to achieve in the case of a traditional way of working.
4. Thanks to this system, the implantologist can also insert implants in areas where the bone does not have the necessary thickness, or in sensitive areas such as the sinus area. Thus, those patients may also receive dental implants and crowns, which in the past were refused or forced to wear mobile prostheses. In these cases, without the help of the surgical guide, the risk of an error, such as passing the implant into the sinus cavity, is far too high. 

7 benefits of using surgical guidance in implantology:

Why choose the surgical guide?

> Computer-guided surgery has many benefits for the patient, the most important of which are listed below. We recommend this solution to every patient, because its benefits outweigh the additional costs.

1. Provides accuracy in implant insertion. Their location will be extremely precise, the geometric difference being a maximum of 0.1 mm from the digitally planned position.
2. This technique will preserve the anatomical structures - prevents damage to neighboring teeth, nerves, maxillary sinuses, nostrils, salivary glands
3. The implant insertion operation will be faster and easier, because the whole process is designed on a computer, before the surgery.
4. The use of the surgical guide allows a minimally invasive intervention, in most cases it is not necessary to discover the bone crest and prepare the flap. Therefore, bleeding will be less, there will be less chance of swelling (swelling) and less medication will be needed.
5. In the planning phase, temporary prosthetic works can be designed and made, so the patient can leave after the operation with the teeth placed on the implants. This is especially important for anterior teeth.
6. The template is made of a bio-compatible and transparent material, it is sterile when placed in the patient's mouth and can not cause allergic reactions.  
7. Eliminates human errors due to the doctor's attempt to align the implants and increases the final aesthetics.

Consequently, for an exceptional result we must have a perfect collaboration both between the implantologist and the dental technician and between the patient and the doctor, and a good ability to use the necessary technologies for this procedure.

If we consider all these advantages, the question arises: why relatively few doctors use this technology? Are there any disadvantages?

Although this technique seems simple and easy to implement, one of the main disadvantages of computer-guided surgery is the high cost of the initial investment in specialized equipment and planning software, as well as the time required for training. While computer-guided implant surgery may be more comfortable and faster for the patient, it is not uncommon for physicians to spend more time planning surgery compared to traditional implant treatments.

However, the Platinum Dental Center clinic offers this solution to patients and as the benefits become clearer, more and more patients are choosing to invest in interventions that ensure their desired oral and aesthetic health.