No one wants a medical procedure to require 20 different appointments and drag out over the course of months or a year. On the flip side, no one wants a process that’s rushed just to meet a timeline, leaving them with subpar outcomes.
Well today, due to technology advances in implant dentistry, patients can have it all. A quick, easy process combined with better-than-ever outcomes.
Here’s how 3-D technology has changed the whole game for the better.
“The Printer”
Surgical teams that work with 3-D technology are able to take data that’s collected from X-rays and recreate an object from scratch. The “printed” item is made through combining small layers to build up what becomes the finished piece.
What they ultimately have is a way to look at X-rays of your mouth and fabricate teeth made perfectly for you – while you’re nowhere near the office. It’s a method that’s highly accurate, yet faster than methods of the past.
Here’s what you can expect.
Step 1: Pre-surgery X-rays
While this appointment is a quick one, it couldn’t be more important. The X-ray images you provide allow your implant team to get started on the fun stuff – i.e. mapping out your entire surgery based completely on 3-D models.
Step 2: Planning your procedure
First is the design phase. The size, shape, contours, and position of your final teeth are designed and digital models are created.
Next, the digital models of your new teeth are integrated into the software that took X-rays of your jaw bone. This determines the exact position and location of your new teeth based on bone quality and structure within your jaw.
Because the measurements are extremely small, a tool called a surgical guide is created. It’s made custom for your surgery and helps your doctor control the process from start to finish, drastically reducing wait time for implant placement and eliminating potential issues.
Step 3: The big day
Your doctor will use the surgical guide to translate all of the digital planning into the precise and accurate placement of your dental implants.
Side note: If the thought of this surgery scares you, read why there’s no reason to sweat it here.
After your surgery, you walk out of the office with temporary custom abutments, (i.e. beautiful, but temporary teeth) in order to give your implants a few months to adjust to their new home and heal.
Step 4: Your final teeth
The team at the dental lab has been hard at work.
These master ceramists have taken your 3-D digital images and created your brand new, physical teeth. They glaze and hand shade each tooth to get it looking beautiful and perfectly… you!
You’ll come into the office to have your final teeth attached to your healed implants and wallah!…
Your smile is back! Your chewing ability is restored! And your oral health has never been better.
Feel free to laugh, cry, jump up and down… we’ve seen it all.
*Schedule a consultation with one of our specialists to get your process started today!
Article originally published at yournewteethnow.com.