Getting Started With Guided Surgery Planning For Edentulous Patients

Recently we have received an increasing number of questions about what dental records need to be collected for use with CBCT guided implant surgery planning for the edentulous patient. The same steps and records would apply in the preparation for guided implant surgery for any edentulous case, including the following treatment path-ways: “All-On-4®”, denture over locator bar, or for any screw retained hybrid denture prosthesis. The purpose of this article will be limited to the steps and clinical records needed prior to the CT scanning appointment and before the use of guided surgery planning software.

The first step regardless of what treatment plan you propose to finish with, is to establish an ideal functional and esthetic relationship. The only way to determine this is with a denture that establishes the prototype for what you will end with. This can be accomplished with the existing denture, but only if it is in an ideal relationship already.