X-Guide Dental Implant Technology

It is well known that dental implants are the next best thing to your natural teeth—they are a strong, attractive and more permanent solution for missing teeth when compared to traditional alternatives like bridges or dentures.  Before implants can be placed, the oral surgeon takes a focused CT (computerized tomography) scan of the patient’s sinus cavities and jaw bones.  After taking measurements from a series of still-frame x-rays, the doctor sees the patient during surgery and uses his or her memory of these x-rays taken days or weeks before to decide where the implants should go.From there, impressions are taken of the upper and lower teeth, plaster models are made, and a whole lot of elbow grease is used to try and recreate that tooth so it bites and looks just like its predecessor.But now, there is an easier way!  …And it’s like GPS for implant surgery.To ensure our patients at Western Pennsylvania Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery feel comfortable and confident about their dental implant surgeries, we make sure to integrate the most cutting-edge technology to place implants, which now includes the X-Guide! Our practice is the only facility in Western Pennsylvania to adopt this technology, and we cannot wait start introducing it to future implant patients. 

X-Guide

A medical technology company called X-NAV Technology has developed a new system and software called the X-Guide which can help your doctor place dental implants.  It uses 3D navigation in real time to help doctors place the implants even more precisely.  This technology is also used by neurosurgeons and other medical professionals to provide a more advanced and efficient experience for surgeons and patients alike.

X-NAV Technologies boasts “turn-by-turn guidance” in which the treating doctor can watch the position, angle and depth of the implant as changes are made during placement.  Their new technology, which they call the X-Guide, offers live, 360 degree views of both the patient’s anatomy and the implant drill’s location at the same time.  The color tracking feature gives doctors immediate feedback on the drill’s depth during surgery.  Using the planning software, the X-Guide enables the doctor to take each individual patient’s 3D treatment plan from screen to reality with ease and confidence.

 

A New Way to Make Impressions

But there’s even more benefit to patients whose doctors use the X-Guide.  Gone are the days of having impressions taken by chomping of wet plaster in trays while gagging the whole time!The X-Guide’s intraoral scanner takes away that process with six simple clicks, gag-free.  This scanner takes a virtual impression of the patient’s mouth instead.Furthermore, the new software allows doctors to place virtual teeth in the patient’s mouth for better aesthetic planning in order to achieve the best possible outcome in terms of function and appearance.  It helps doctors to maximize their time, as well as their patients’, while minimizing complications.  Just as CT scans made a huge improvement to the world of dental implants years ago, X-NAV Technologies’ new technology adds leaps and bounds.According to the American Academy of Implant Dentistry, 3 million Americans have one or more dental implants and that number is exponentially growing.  The new, and recently FDA approved, X-Guide by X-NAV Technologies will help facilitate many new implants, giving millions of more Americans their smile back.