Full digital workflow for crown lengthening by using a single surgical guide
The Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry
Available online 29 November 2019
Abstract
A
technique using a digital workflow for performing crown lengthening by
using a free software program is presented to digitally design a single
surgical guide. The technique consists of obtaining standard
tessellation language (STL) files from intraoral scans from a digital
design of the new tooth shape and from a cone beam computed tomography
(CBCT) scan, after which Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine
(DICOM) files are converted to the STL format. These files are then
superimposed and used for surgical planning of the crown-lengthening
procedure. The main component of the surgical guide is a labial upper
band representing the biological width measurement based on the
predicted digitally designed future gingival margin position.
Accordingly, the lower edge of the band indicates the level of the main
marginal incision, whereas the top of the band indicates the level where
the alveolar bone crest must be repositioned by alveolotomy during the
surgical crown-lengthening procedure. By performing an adequate
diagnosis of the potential restorative outcome, the new position of the
gingival margin and the crown shape can be predicted, and whether
osteoplasty is needed can be determined.
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