Dental implants have been around for many decades, with proven long-term success as a permanent tooth replacement option. Implant planning technology has taken implant surgery to a new level.
Technology and Dental Implants
Wilmington Oral Surgery has the advanced technology in our office to provide cutting-edge treatment. We combine the digital 3-D cone beam CT, 3-D intraoral scanner, and 3-D printer to plan an implant case. This technology allows us to replace the missing teeth first and then virtually plan the implant placement. The final step with the 3-D printer makes a surgical guide customized to the position of the implants and crowns. Having the 3-D printer in house saves the patient hundreds of dollars per case, since dental labs will charge to make the surgical guides.
Once the implants have integrated, we can use the 3-D scanner to obtain impressions, which are sent via e-mail to the dental lab for crown fabrications. Most labs we work with prefer the digital impressions over traditional impressions, as there is no distortion with digital impressions.
-Dr. Scott Puckett
