Using an existing surgical template as an aid for a virtual interocclusal record

Abstract

A satisfactory complete denture can be duplicated with acrylic resin to preserve the information on the patient’s occlusal vertical dimension, occlusal relationship, and tooth arrangement during preoperative planning for dental implant treatment.1 The duplicated denture can be used as a radiographic template, surgical template, and occlusally adapted custom tray.2 A dual scan protocol with the existing complete denture and additively manufactured surgical template (in the shape of a duplicated denture) is commonly used in contemporary static computer-aided implant surgery (s-CAIS). Occlusion with the opposing arch is often needed to properly position these surgical templates before the s-CAIS.3 As these surgical templates are designed and manufactured from the 3D volumetric data of the existing denture, preserving the interocclusal relationship, this technique allows the clinicians to use the surgical template as an aid to obtain a virtual interocclusal record during intraoral scanning. The acquired intraoral scan and virtual interocclusal record can be used for fabricating a computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) implant prosthesis.