Periodontal & Implant Associates recently introduced a new technology to our office that has been a game changer. No longer do we need to use impression material—that goopy stuff we put in trays and sticks in your mouth for a few minutes, which makes you want to gag. Now, we use a very small digital wand that captures all the same information in a digital file.

It takes about a minute and is more accurate than the traditional models that we used to make. The coolest part is we use that information in addition to our 3D bone scanner to make digital guides for our implant surgery. What does that mean for a patient? We plan your implant surgery digitally on our computer and then we 3D print a surgical guide that replicates exactly what we planned in the software. This allows us to perform implant placement much more quickly, with more accuracy. And the best part is less surgical time equals less discomfort after. In fact, most patients who’ve had computer guided implant surgery in our office told us they required no pain medication after the procedure!