Minimally Invasive Implant Surgery and Immediate Loading: Surgical and Prosthetic Techniques

Introduction: Computerized tomography (CT)-guided implant surgery has been used to perform minimally invasive implant placement. In many cases, the procedure may be performed along with immediate restoration. Inaccuracies related to the CT scan itself and the surgical technique often result in implant positions which are slightly different from those that were planned. If immediate restoration and/ or loading is desired, a prosthetic technique must be used that can easily account for this discrepancy. Case Presentation: A 43-year-old male patient with a completely edentulous maxilla and mandible presented to the Periodontics Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania. Implants were placed in both the maxilla and mandible using a minimally invasive CT-guided approach. The dentures that were fabricated for him were converted into fixed hybrid restorations at the time of surgery using two different techniques that took into account any discrepancy between the surgical plan and the actual placement. Conclusions: With meticulous planning and appropriate prosthetic technique, CT-guided surgery can be used to perform minimally invasive implant surgery and immediate restoration of edentulous jaws. This approach can provide lower morbidity along with a more accurate, fast, and convenient result for the patient.