ABSTRACT
Application of surgical stents for implant placement via guided flapless surgery is increasing. However, high cost, need for some professional machines, and not taking into account the soft-tissue parameters have limited their application. We sought to design and introduce a technique named in-office guided implant placement (iGIP) to decrease the cost by using available devices in office and enhance the applicability of surgical stents. A customized surgical stent was fabricated based on prosthetic, soft- and hard-tissue parameters by taking into account the amount of available bone (using the computed tomographic [CT] data), soft-tissue thickness and contour (using a composite-covered radiographic stent), and position of the final crown (by diagnostic cast wax up and marking the final crown position with composite). The efficacy of iGIP, in terms of the accuracy of the three-dimensional position of the implant placed in the study cast and in patient's mouth, was confirmed by direct observation and postoperative CT. The iGIP can enhance implant placement in the prosthetically desired position in various types of edentulism. Using this technique minimizes the risk of unwanted consequences, as the soft-tissue thickness and contour are taken into account when fabricating a surgical stent.
