Extraoral digitalization: A digital protocol for surgical treatment of edentulous patients

Materials and methods: This study was designed as a pilot case series study aimed at evaluating the feasibility of a new extraoral chairside prosthesis scanning protocol for guided implant surgery in completely edentulous arches. This new protocol includes 2 extraoral chairside scans using a powdered intraoral scanner. The first part is based on the extraoral chairside digitalization of the current prosthesis with added radiopaque markers made in flowable composite and subsequent imaging superimposition with DICOM data. The second part is based on the extraoral chairside digitalization of conventional scan abutments fixed on a specially designed customized tray, based on the original virtual planning.

Results: Three patients (one man and two women) with a mean age of 58.9 years were treated. A total of 13 implants were placed using a guided approach. All of the patients underwent 2 extraoral chairside digitalizations with no deviation from the original protocol. No implant failed and the prosthetic survival rate was 100 percent.

Conclusion: Within the limits of this study, it is suggested that extraoral chairside digitalization may provide better accuracy than conventional methods, permitting fast, easy and accurate treatment at a decreased cost. Randomized controlled trials are needed to evaluate predictability and repeatability of this workflow.

Editorial note: The full article was published in the 2/2018 issue of the Journal of Oral Science and Rehabilitation.

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