From Cosmetic News
Traditionally, the placement of dental implants has been an intuitive process. However, recent advancements in three-dimensional diagnostic and treatment technologies, has substantially changed the approach of clinicians to the treatment planning and placement of dental implants. Improvements in three-dimensional imaging, and greater access to proprietary 3D implant planning software, now allow for more accurate and predictable implant treatment plans that eliminate a lot of guesswork. In addition to helping the clinician place implants with greater ease and confidence, these computer-guided implant technologies have also enhanced patient communication, thereby improving patient care and outcomes.
In order to better understand the role of computer-guided implant dentistry in day-to-day clinical practice, OsseoNews.com, the leading online publication in implant dentistry worldwide, recently conducted a survey of its readers regarding computer guided implant dentistry.
The proprietary OsseoNews.com survey discovered that when it comes to computer-guided planning software, 55% of the respondents are still not using this type of software in their practice, though over 75% of the clinicians who do not use this advanced software do intend to use computer-guided software in the future. Of the clinicians who already have integrated proprietary planning software into their practice, over 80% work with the software themselves, as opposed to consulting with a third-party implant treatment planning service.
In addition, thru the survey, OsseoNews.com also learned that despite growing evidence of the benefits of 3-D digital imaging systems, direct ownership of a 3-dimensional digital imaging system, like a cone beam volumetric tomographic system (CBCT), was still low among respondents. Only 22% of those surveyed currently owned such equipment. However, over 40% of the clinicians surveyed planned to purchase a 3-D imaging system in the next 1 to 3 years. The main reasons cited for considering a 3-dimensional digital imaging system like a cone beam CT were to plan and place dental implants (94% of respondents), and to help patients better understand their treatment plans (51% of respondents).
Clinicians also demonstrated strong opinions when it came to the criteria they deemed as important in their purchasing decisions for 3-dimensional imaging system, and in the features that they wanted in any such system. The service, education and support offered by the manufacturer of the 3-D imaging system, was the most important purchase criteria of the eight criteria listed, with 50% of the respondents ranking this as an extremely important decision-making factor. Not surprisingly, with media attention surrounding patient exposure to radiation from imaging systems, 37% of respondents also ranked the Dose of Radiation, as an extremely important purchasing criterion. Clinicians did not rank the price or the brand of the 3-D Imaging System, as vitally important to their purchase decision.
As the features offered by 3-dimensional imaging systems continue to expand, clinicians advised that 3-dimensional image quality was an extremely important feature for a 3-D system. However, though the integration of the 3-D system with the rest of equipment and software in office was considered very important, its average rating was the lowest of the seven 3-D imaging system features OsseoNews.com asked clinicians to rank.[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPYFFMBy-MQ&feature=related[/youtube]
