PAST EDITOR'S MESSAGE | SUMMER 2007

Camille Mayorga, DRT
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I attended the AADMRT Spring seminar in Oakland , Merry Hampton did a terrific job selecting the speakers, and it was an informative and interesting event.

One of the speakers is a fellow AADMRT member, Jerry Peck. Jerry spoke to the group about Implant Software companies and how we can integrate their services into our businesses. Jerry is very knowledgeable on this process and works with the doctors in his area getting it set up.

Most imaging labs are now using CBCT, providing their implant doctor referrals with sagittal slices of the maxilla and mandible often marking the mandibular canal. This has been an excellent tool for doctors to aid in choosing implant sites, but there is still a piece of information missing.

Many doctors are now making a stent with radiographic markers for the patient to wear during the scan. Now they can visualize the bone exactly at the proposed implant site. The next step is to have the stent made into a surgical guide using the CBCT dicom data and the stent. This process uses an implant software planning system like Simplant, I-dent, Implant Logic, to name only a few. Imaging labs can provide this service for their doctors by sending the patient's dicom data and radiographic stent directly to the implant software providers. These 3rd party providers build a precise surgical guide for the doctor and mail it to them with a very quick turnaround-time.

If your lab is not doing this yet, it is something you might want to look into. Maybe in the near future we will be able to send our patient's CBCT scans to another provider for specific work-ups for TMJ, Implant, Sinus, etc. and have them send the prints and reports directly to our referring doctors. Now that would be nice!