Aiming for Precision

Technology continues to play an ever-increasing role in dentistry, with the advances not only making the clinician's job more proficient but facilitating precision outcomes for patients.

This has been especially true in implant dentistry. Digital technology has helped enhance diagnostic capabilities, improve placement accuracy, and enable practitioners to garner better results. This evolution of technology has led to the use of dynamic navigation, a tool that has seen increased activity in various other medical fields and has made its way into dentistry.

As described in one of our continuing education (CE) articles, dynamic navigation can be particularly effective for precision implant placement. Employing a "virtual" template and micron-tracking camera, these systems give real-time feedback to the operator to enable implant placement that reflects the preplanned position. The result is extreme accuracy, along with faster procedure times. This article demonstrates the use of dynamic navigation in two case examples.

Another area of dentistry that has led to increased precision is interdisciplinary dentistry, where the dental treatment involves members of various dental disciplines coming together to achieve the best possible outcome. As demonstrated in a case report, the solo dentist is quickly becoming a thing of the past in complex cases. The article discusses and illustrates the benefits of interdisciplinary treatment in an esthetically challenging case.

This issue also features an article on fluorescence-enhanced theragnosis, a concept for the visualization, detection, and removal of caries. "Theragnosis" combines diagnosis and therapeutics through fluorescence, allowing enhanced clinical decision-making and minimally invasive treatment of dental caries. The technique is aimed at improving surgical precision while maintaining healthy tooth structure.

Other articles in this issue also are intended to help clinicians attain precision results, including a case report that presents a novel approach for improving free gingival graft immobility around implants utilizing a completed implant restoration, and a case that describes a method for a comprehensive, phased restoration of a worn dentition using digital analysis and diagnostics. Our other CE article discusses adrenal insufficiency and its implications on dental treatment.

Technology in dentistry is anything but static. Here at Compendium, we'll continue to present the tools and techniques to help you hit the mark with precision every time.

Sincerely,

Markus B. Blatz, DMD, PhD
Editor-in-Chief
mblatz@aegiscomm.com