Computer Guided Implant Surgery
What is Computer Guided Implant Surgery?
Computer Guided Surgery is the latest advancement in dental implant surgery using the X-Nav System . It consists of 4 steps in planning and performing extremely accurate implant surgery.
These are:
A Cone Beam Computerized Tomography(CBCT) image is taken of your jaw - this is very similar to a medical CAT Scan. It gives us a 3-dimensional image of your jaw.
An intraoral scan is taken to create a image of the the surfaces of the teeth and gum tissue. This is not a radiographic procedure and is basically a series of photographs that are stitched together by the software.
Sophisticated software that allows us to place implants in your jaw in the best possible locations is then used to plan the surgery.
The most recent advance has been the developement of the X-Nav system which is a computer driven method to direct the surgery itself so that we can place the implants in your jaw just as we had planned them on the computer. It dramatically increases the precise placement of the implants.
1: CBCT
A 3D image of the jaw is taken with a CBCT which shows the contours of the bone and positions of important structures like the sinus or mandibular nerve (in the lower jaw).
2: Intraoral Scan
An intraoral scan is taken to record the shapes and surfaces of the teeth and gums which are then combined with the CBCT image of the bone.
3: Plan the Surgery on the Computer
3D software is used to plan the surgery as accurately as possible. This is more or less "practicing" the surgery on the computer before peforming it in your mouth.
4: Guide Surgery with X-Nav
Using the X-Nav computer guided system, we are able to have the computer guide our surgery and direct the drill to place the implant in the same position as planned in the software.
