Prosthetically directed implant placement using computer software to ensure precise placement and predictable prosthetic outcomes. Part 1: diagnostics, imaging, and collaborative accountability.

The need for an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan remains essential for predictable treatment outcomes with dental implants. Advances in computerized tomography (CT) technology now enable the execution of a surgical outcome based on presurgical planning. Precise implant placement no longer relies on socalled mental navigation but rather can be computer guided, based on a three-dimensional, prosthetically directed plan. Current CT technology enables all implant team members to embrace the concept of collaborative accountability, which can ensure consistent outcomes. Clinicians can fabricate an implant-supported prosthesis presurgically using patients' CT scan data. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of scanning appliances to transfer clinically relevant prosthetic outcome information to a CT data set. With SimPlant software, this information can be used to provide a pretreatment outcome analysis, which can be used for fabrication of stereolithographic models and surgical drilling guides used during osteotomy preparation.