Types of Implant Surgical Guides in Dentistry: A Review
Various techniques have been proposed for the fabrication of surgical guide templates in implant dentistry. The objective of this paper is to review the associated literature and recent advancements in this field, based on design concept. An electronic and hand search of the literature revealed 3 categories, namely, nonlimiting, partially limiting, and completely limiting design. Most clinicians still adopt the partially limiting design due to its cost-effectiveness and credibility. Moreover, clinicians use cross-sectional imaging during the preimplant assessment of surgical sites.

Figure 1. Vacuum-formed template. Figure 2. Brass tube incorporated into the surgical guide. Reprinted from J Prosthet Dent 2000;83:248–251, with permission from the corresponding author. Figure 3. Bilaminar dual-purpose surgical guide. Reprinted from J Prosthet Dent 2000;84:55–58, with permission from Elsevier. Figure 4. Gutta-percha guide. Reprinted from J Prosthet Dent 2001;85:504–508, with permission from Elsevier. Figure 5. Metal sleeve guide. Reprinted from J Prosthet Dent 2001;85:504–508, with permission from Elsevier. Figure 6. Surgical guide attached to the head of the contra-angle hand piece. Reprinted from J Prosthet Dent 2002;88:548–552, with permission from the corresponding author.

Figure 7. Guide pins attached to the surgical guide to verify alignment of implants. Reprinted from J Prosthet Dent 2003;89:611–615, with permission from Elsevier. Figure 8. Facial portion of surgical template removed before surgery. Reprinted from J Prosthet Dent 2004;91:395–397, with permission from Elsevier. Figure 9. Two-piece implant placement surgical guide. Reprinted from J Prosthet Dent 2004;92:196–199, with permission from Elsevier. Figure 10. Surgical guide for immediate implant placement following staged tooth extraction. Reprinted from J Prosthet Dent 2005;94:394–397, with permission from Elsevier. Figure 11. Radiographic rod removed following radiographic analysis. Reprinted from J Prosthet Dent 2007;97:310–312, with permission from Elsevier. Figure 12. Surgical guide connected to mandibular record base. Reprinted from J Prosthet Dent 2008;100:323–325, with permission from Elsevier. Figure 13. Cast-based surgical guide. Reprinted from J Prosthet Dent 2008;100:61–69, with permission from the corresponding author. Figure 14. Radiographic view of the cast-based surgical guide. Reprinted from J Prosthet Dent 2008;100:61–69, with permission from the corresponding author.
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