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cone beam international magazine of cone beam dentistry

_Consider the allegory of a pilot navigating a plane with no cockpit controls and poor visi- bility. It is too dark to see, and there are no ref- erence points to help the pilot guide the plane. At this point, the sky is a 2-D world. This scenario is frightening to even the most skilled pilots: navigating the unknown. Implant dentistry offers similar challenges in navigating the implant properly into the receptor site so that it meets the surgical and prosthetic goals of the plan. In order to achieve proper implant placement, we need predicta- bility. As a trained prosthodontist, it has always been my goal to achieve a high degree of pre- dictability. When evaluating implant receptor sites, I realised early on the need for top- down cognition during the treatment planning process. In other words, the teeth are first visualised in their ideal prosthetic position and then the im- plantsareplannedineachpotentialreceptorsite to best suit the intended position of the teeth or occlusion. Unless you control those steps, theprocessisguidedbyalevelofguesswork,and therefore you are not flying with full control. 18 I I opinion _ use of CBCT cone beam1_2014 Fig. 1a_A cross-sectional view of the mandibular right third molar showing its proximity to the mandibular nerve. Fig. 1b_Same view using third-party 3-D software (SimPlant, Materialise Dental). The software uses the DICOM data obtained from the scan. Adapting CBCT in private practice: Apersonal experience Author_Dr Barry Kaplan, USA Fig. 1a Fig. 1b CBE0114_18-20_Kaplan 31.01.14 15:50 Seite 1