Defining New Paradigms for Assessment of Implant Receptor Sites: The Use of CT/CBCT and Interactive Virtual Treatment Planning for Congenitally Missing Lateral Incisors

Abstract

An emerging technology that encompasses computed tomography, cone-beam computed tomography, and interactive software applications has slowly progressed and evolved into a necessary tool for diagnosis, treatment planning, and delivery of dental implant and associated restorative and surgical procedures. The integration of these innovative tools is helping to define new methods for appreciating anatomy, improving accuracy, and enhancing presurgical prosthetic planning to achieve true restorative-driven implant dentistry. This article will demonstrate how computed tomography combined with interactive virtual treatment-planning software applications can empower clinicians with enhanced diagnostic capabilities for implant receptor-site assessment, generating new paradigms that eventually may supersede older methods of presurgical planning for dental implant reconstruction.