How 3D Dental Implant Planning Works

The 3D dental implant planning process is a routine dental implant process refinement. It typically involves just three steps after your initial consultation:

  • 3D scans
  • Creation of surgical plans
  • Dental implant placement

These three steps are typically all it takes to place your dental implant or implants.

3D Scans

We take 3D scans using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). This technology uses a series of low-dose X-rays taken at different angles to construct a three-dimensional model of the surgical area. This technology offers many advantages over other types of CT scans.

First, it’s an open-model technology. You can sit or stand in the machine with two arms rather than a solid cylinder around your head.

Second, it’s a fast technology. It takes just seconds to take the scan, and the results are available immediately.

Finally, the 3D CBCT uses a relatively small amount of radiation. It’s comparable to the amount you get from a typical series of bitewing X-rays. That’s just a tiny fraction of the radiation exposure from a medical CT scan and significantly less than a chest x-ray.

Creation of Surgical Plans

Although the CBCT scan is low radiation, it is high detail. It gives us all the necessary information to plan your surgical procedure accurately. It tells us the location and density of your jawbone. It also shows us any abnormalities or diseases that might affect the implant. Plus, it shows your anatomy, such as the location of tooth roots and significant nerves in the jaw.

This detailed information lets us determine key surgical details, such as whether you need gum disease treatment or a bone graft before implant placement. It also allows us to decide on the best place to put dental implants to maximize the use of your bone while minimizing your risk of complications. We can make these plans even if you have teeth we must extract before placing implants.

Once we’ve determined the optimal placement plan for your dental implants, we will translate these plans into a surgical guide we can use during surgery.

Dental Implant Placement

On the day of your surgery, we will use our surgical guide to assist with placing your dental implants. This streamlines the procedure to minimize your time in the dental chair while maximizing your odds of success.

Our precise implant planning allows us to place implants while we extract one or more natural teeth. We can often put a dental crown or bridge on your implant during the same procedure.

Benefits of 3D Dental Implant Planning


3D dental implant planning makes your dental implant procedure better in many ways. With this technology, you will appreciate:

  • Accurate assessment of treatment needs
  • Faster implant surgery
  • Improved implant success rate
  • Lower risk of complications
  • Better cosmetic planning

The 3D dental implant planning procedure ensures we know the condition of your jawbone before the day of your procedure. We won’t need to call off or modify your procedure because we encountered a surprise during surgery.

By creating an accurate plan and translating it into a surgical guide, we can perform your surgery more quickly. You won’t have to spend much time in the dental chair for surgery, even if you need one or more extractions.

With greater accuracy comes an improved implant success rate. We can place your implant with the best bone support and utilize bone graft when necessary. This helps us make your implant stable enough so that you can enjoy your teeth on the same day.

Highly accurate surgical plans also help us avoid complications. 3D imaging shows us the location of your tooth roots and the critical nerves in your jawbone. Our surgical plan lets us avoid these, so you don’t have to worry about complications like tooth loss or facial numbness

3D dental implant planning goes beyond the implant. The software lets us plan the entire procedure virtually, including the restorations that will go on the implant. This helps us design a procedure that is successful and yields beautiful results.

Get Dental Implants in Detroit

If you’re considering dental implants in Detroit, Rochester Advanced Dentistry utilizes some of the most advanced technology to deliver an outstanding experience and results.

To learn how our advanced technology can give you a better dental implant experience, please call (248) 656-2020 or use our online form today to request an appointment with an implant dentist at our location in Rochester, MI.