3D Scan for Dental Implants

Hello, this is Dr. Sasan Khodabakhsh with Summit Point Dental Implant Center. Today I want to talk to you about something that most dental implant patients don't even consider, and that's the type of technology that your dental office offers. If you're getting a dental implant, you're investing in something that you want it to last a lifetime if it's placed correctly. And the emphasis here is on "placed correctly." Let me explain. A lot of dentists can place an implant, you know, in bone, but the problem is sometimes if the angulation is off or there's not enough bone structure surrounding the implant, it's going to be very difficult to restore it. And also, you know, you're going to have issues with long-term stability of that implant. As dentists, we often try to mitigate risk by trying to overthink everything and try to get as much technology as we can in order to provide the best service for our patients. And having a 3D scan is very important in determining, you know, how well we're going to be placing this implant. This is a 3D CT scan. Every dentist that places dental implants should have one. There are many professionals out there that think that the traditional x-ray is sufficient to diagnose and treat a lot of, you know, different types of issues people have when they come to the dentist. And in most cases, I do agree with them. I think it's doable, but it's not really the best approach. The problem with traditional x-rays is that it's a two-dimensional image that we see and we can't really see what the bone volume is or also vital anatomy structure, such as arteries or nerves that may be around the area. Let me show you an example of what a 3D CT scan looks like. If you look here, we can see the patient's bone structure. We can see, you know, the amount of, you know, bone loss or, you know, bone level that they have, the bone volume in the area. And also we can determine what angulation we need to place that implant to get the best results because we have to also think of it that this implant is going to be restored with something over it. Using a 3D CT scan will allow us to have less of a human error when we place implants thus a better prognosis for the patient. Also, as a result of having a 3D CT scan, it allows us to also be able to print 3D surgical guides for our patient, which is basically a stent that allows us to place an implant precisely exactly where we want it. So remember, if you're planning on getting a dental implant, make sure that your provider has a 3D CT scan. Don't get one with the traditional x-rays. I hope this video helps and that you consider now, you know, why it's important to get a 3D CT scan if you're considering getting a dental implant. And my name is Dr. Sasan Khodabakhsh with Summit Point Dental Implant Center.