The surgical guide is a medical device that contains all the information needed to correctly position the dental implant during computer-guided surgery. Specifically, when we talk about a surgical guide we are referring to a transparent template made up of a resin structure and some metal sleeves. The guide is designed each time by the clinician to guide them with precision during the placement of dental implants. Each template is unique, as it is made using advanced technologies such as computed tomography (CT) or intraoral scanning, so it fits the patient’s anatomy perfectly.
How is the surgical guide produced?
The surgical guide is produced using a 3D printer. To do this, the clinician or the laboratory preparing it needs to have a digital .stl file of the project. The design of the final file can be done in two different ways that make it possible to obtain the scan of the dental impression:
- through a scan of the patient’s mouth carried out with an intraoral scanner
- with the scan of a model obtained from an impression taken with classic impression paste.
The surgical guide has now become a key element in modern implant surgery and is therefore one of the protagonists of computer-guided surgery.
The advantages of computer-guided surgery:
From the clinician’s point of view, among the great advantages offered by this workflow is the ability to make surgery very precise and to significantly reduce work-related stress. For the patient, on the other hand, computer-guided surgery makes it possible to reduce the invasiveness of the treatment, shortens the post-operative phase and, last but not least, allows for a predictable aesthetic result.
The characteristics of the surgical guide:
- Precision: the precision with which the template is made minimizes the clinician’s risk of error during the procedure, ensuring more precise and safer work for the patient too.
- Efficiency: overall, the process that begins with the design of the surgical case and ends with the placement of the implants in the oral cavity is more efficient, faster and more accurate.
- Customization: each guide is customized, made according to the specific characteristics of the patient’s mouth. This allows the clinician to better handle the anatomical variations present in each specific case, ensuring an optimal result.
Today many dental laboratories are equipped to support computer-guided surgery and the production of surgical guides. JDLab is one of the most advanced facilities in Italy in terms of instruments and number of jobs carried out. The surgical guides produced are delivered to the clinician with all the sleeves already inserted. Thanks to these Ø 5.05 mm sleeves, suitable for all JD implant diameters from Ø 2.75 to Ø 5.0 mm, the doctor will be able to perform assisted, precise surgery according to the design made with the JD-igital Guide software (powered by RealGUIDE™ 3DIEMME), working safely and quickly, thus increasing the productivity of their practice.