Barium-coated surgical stents and computer-assisted tomography in the preoperative assessment of dental implant patients.

At surgery, the results of preoperative radiographic evaluation are used in conjunction with surgical stents to determine the ideal site and angulation of implants. However, it would be desirable to be able to plan the optimal implant location before the actual surgical appointment. This paper presents a technique in which barium-coated stents or dentures are used in conjunction with computer-assisted tomography to locate important anatomic landmarks, such as the inferior alveolar nerve, and anomalies of the underlying bone, such as deficiencies in ridge height, preoperatively. This allows more accurate determination of optimal implant placement.