Explaining The Pillars of Successful Implant Planning

According to an article by Melissa Seibert, DMD, MS, published in Inside Dentistry, successful implant treatment planning relies on three key pillars: precision, communication, and case acceptance. As Seibert states, “The three pillars of successful implant treatment planning are precision, communication, and case acceptance.”

Precision and Communication in Implant Planning

Seibert highlights the importance of ensuring that an implant can be placed precisely where it was treatment planned. She warns, “If the planning was imprecise or failed to account for the needs of the hard and soft tissues at the site, the implant can end up being placed too coronally, and not only will the optimal emergence profile not be achieved but also an idealized papilla will not form.”

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Effective communication between the dental team members is crucial for achieving precision. Seibert contrasts the multidisciplinary approach, where practitioners from multiple disciplines are involved but do not intercommunicate, with the interdisciplinary approach, where all parties thoroughly communicate with one another to develop an aligned plan. As she states, “In interdisciplinary treatment planning, all of the parties involved thoroughly communicate with one another to develop a plan that is in alignment with each other’s goals.”

Case Acceptance and the Advantages of Digital Implant Planning

Seibert emphasizes the importance of achieving case acceptance from patients, noting that “ultimately, patients have to accept these treatment plans for them to move forward.” She highlights the advantages of digital implant planning in facilitating precision, interdisciplinary communication, and case acceptance.

“Digital implant planning provides a means by which clinicians can optimize precision, facilitate interdisciplinary communication, and achieve case acceptance,” Seibert writes. She explains that digital software incorporating the patient’s intraoral scans and CBCT images enables accurate implant positioning and angulation, facilitates file-sharing among the dental team, and engages patients in the treatment planning process through visualizations.

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Case Report Illustrating the Benefits of Digital Planning

Seibert presents a case report of a 50-year-old male patient requiring implant treatment for a fractured lateral incisor and an edentulous space. Digital treatment planning software (DentalCAD and exoplan from exocad) was utilized to address precision, communication, and case acceptance challenges.

The software allowed for smile design incorporating the patient’s portrait, enabling real-time feedback and co-diagnosis with the patient. It also facilitated implant planning, identifying the need for hard-tissue grafting to accommodate the implant placement. Seibert notes, “Using the implant planning software, the patient in this case was shown the proposed implant placement and how it would encroach on the incisive canal. By providing visuals, a thorough informed consent conversation was facilitated, and the patient agreed to treatment.”

Ultimately, a guided surgical approach enabled precise implant placement aligned with the digital plan, as confirmed by postoperative radiographs.

In conclusion, Seibert’s article highlights the pivotal role of digital treatment planning software in enhancing precision, communication, and case acceptance in implant dentistry, as exemplified by the successful case report.

Read the full article.