You may already know about dental implants if you’ve ever lost any teeth. These small, metal posts now represent the gold standard of modern tooth replacement. That said, new technology has found a way to make them yet more effective: guided dental implant surgery! This enhanced approach to implant placement has perks that freehand surgery doesn’t. For more details, just keep reading.
Context: What’s Freehand Dental Implant Surgery?
Up until the last few years, implant surgeons couldn’t get help from software. They could only place implant posts through freehand dental implant surgery.
Freehand implant surgery (per its name) is planned entirely by your surgeon. As such, it often requires a long time to manufacture, fit, and insert dental implants. A lab needs weeks to craft the restorations based on many images and molds taken by your dental team. Plus, the produced implants may be “off” in placement, size, and shape. These missteps could result in implant failure, infections, or pain.
How is Guided Implant Surgery Different?
Many dentists no longer place implant posts through the “freehand” method. Instead, new forms of technology let them perform guided dental implant surgery.
Guided dental implant surgery relies on computers for help. To be more exact, it lets a dentist use advanced software to “guide” the placement work. These programs capture clear images of your mouth, so each implant is set precisely. They take a lot of guesswork out of your treatment and ensure more optimal results.
Why Choose Guided Over Freehand?
Along with the normal implant perks, guided implant surgery offers extra upsides that freehand ones can’t. These are:
- Greater Precision – Because it’s partly planned by software, guided implant surgery is much more precise. The implants it places are sure to go in just the right spots!
- Fewer Risks – When it relies on computers, implant placement is less likely to cause harmful side effects. You’ll have a lower risk of damaged oral nerves and similar issues.
- Reduced Treatment Time – Guided dental implant surgery can be faster than freehand surgery. In fact, it often gives the patient new teeth in just one visit!
- Quicker Recovery – A guided dental implant surgery usually allows for a shorter recovery. It makes fewer incisions that your mouth has to heal.
All that said, guided implant surgery does cost more than the freehanded kind. Remember to consider pricing and financing if you opt for it.
About the Practice
D&G Dental of West Orange is based in West Orange, NJ. Thanks to our four fabulous dentists, our practice fuses quality dental care with advanced technology. We thus offer preventive, cosmetic, and restorative work, as well as emergency dentistry for urgent cases. In fact, our office also provides guided dental implant surgery to ensure top-tier results! For more details or to book a visit, you can reach us on our website or by phone at (973)-731-2200.