Cone Beam CT data can be fed into a 3D printer to fabricate an exact replica of the patient’s jaws and facial skeleton (Stereolithic model). This incredible CAD-CAM technology is used at our office to fabricate custom milling jigs (stereolithic stents) to allow implant placement with incredible accuracy. “Teeth in a day” can be now performed in our office because implants can be preplanned in their positions prior to the date of surgery and the patient’s teeth can be made before the implants are placed, allowing no downtime for our patients who demand permanent teeth the same day as their natural teeth are extracted. The 3D stents also allow us to plan custom cheekbone/chin implants for our cosmetic patients. Custom stents are also incredibly powerful in surgical planning for resection of tumors and cysts in patient’s jaws.
