Glossary

Clipping function is a software application that can virtually slice through a 3D volumetric reconstruction derived from CT/CBCT data in various planes. In implant creation and placement, detailed images of the patient’s mouth and dentition must first be acquired. These images are then used to create models of the patient’s mouth and also of the planned implant or prosthesis. This allows the practitioners and technicians to determine if the planned implant placement is possible or if adjustments are required. The use of the clipping function is another tool that provides additional views of the patient’s dentition and oral structure prior to any procedure being performed. It allows practitioners and technicians to see the oral anatomy that otherwise could not be viewed in an office examination. The use of such technology has reduced the number of errors made and adjustments required in the creation of an oral implant or prosthesis.

The closed-tray impression, or indirect impression, is an impression technique that uses an impression coping with positioning features around which a rigid elastic impression material is injected. After removal of the impression, the coping is unthreaded from the mouth, connected to a laboratory analog, and repositioned into the impression prior to pouring. A closed-tray impression is typically used when a patient’s implants are or will be mostly parallel to each other. It is not an efficient impression technique for non-parallel implants. The closed-tray technique may also be used when there is not enough room for screw-retained impression copings and/or when there is a reduced interarch distance. Another benefit of the closed-tray impression technique is that it is an efficient way to obtain an image of both the implant and the natural teeth in the same impression. To avoid any errors in the proper capture of the impression, it is important that the tray is properly seated without interference from the abutments or screws.

Cluster (implant) failure refers to the occurrence of multiple dental implant failures in one patient. It can also refer to multiple implant failures in a minute group of patients that have been derived from a large pool of subjects. There are several possible causes behind cluster implant failures in a minute group. A practitioner may become less exacting in their placement techniques and may begin using shortcuts. The complexities in patient cases may also increase which can lead to a higher rate of implant failures within that patient group. Changes in the manufacturing of the hardware or implants themselves may also lead to an increase in failure rate. Finally, chance may also play a roll in cluster implant failure. There may be no changes to a practitioner’s technique, to the implants or hardware, or to the complexity of patient cases yet simply by chance, implant failures can take place in a cluster of patients that appear to make the failure rate much higher.

A CMOS device is a type of advanced technology used to create integrated circuits. The acronym CMOS stands for “Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor” and is used in a wide variety of technical applications, from batteries and consumer digital cameras to the latest digital x-ray technology. A CMOS device works by converting light waves into digital signals by utilizing on-chip circuits and photosensitive pixels to help create accurate imaging. In the field of dentistry and dental implantology, a CMOS device is used with CBCT, or cone-beam computed tomography. CBCT takes image slices, which then can be put together to construct a 3D reconstruction of a patient’s teeth, jaw, and mouth. The advantage of using CMOS devices with cone-beam computed tomography is when compared to other similar devices like a charge-coupled device (CCD) is that a CMOS device uses smaller pixels and therefore produces images with a higher resolution.