When one or more teeth are failing and there is no active disease
present, careful assessment can be carried out at the time that
the teeth are removed.
At this step, impressions for study casts would be taken, these
are a replica of the mouth, which enable the technician to make
a mock-up of what the final appearance should be. This is called
a diagnostic preview. The diagnostic template is also constructed
at this stage; this enables the implant to be positioned correctly
and the right post to be selected. In the case for same-day
implants a temporary crown or bridge is constructed to enable
the implant to be loaded immediately.
In the case of implants being placed into healed sites that
are going to be loaded immediately, it may also become necessary
to measure the width of the bone either by measuring it directly
by a process called ridge mapping or by using a CT Scan. CT
Scans are a valuable tool they enable the bone to be measured
in three dimensions. For immediate loading it is particularly
necessary to measure bone density with a CT scan.
Nowadays it is possible to have the data available on a computer
disc. This allows the precise size of the implant to be determined
prior to treatment.
