Radiographic and surgical guide fabrication for implant-retained mandibular overdenture.

A simple technique is presented to make a multipurpose duplicate of the patient's complete denture to plan and fabricate a mandibular implant-retained overdenture. This duplicate serves 3 different functions. It can be used as a radiographic guide, surgical template, and custom tray adapted to the patient's occlusion. Advantages of the technique described are twofold: it is cost effective and makes use of equipment and materials commonly found in dental practices. The use of a single guide allows the clinician to refer to the recorded prosthetic data at each step of implant treatment. Copyright 2010 The Editorial Council of the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.