Glossary

A dental implant navigation system includes handpiece and jaw attachments, a motion tracker sensor, motion tracker software, and cameras. This technology is used to create real-time imagery and calculations of where dental tools are in relation to the patient’s jaw so dental implants can be placed precisely where they should be, with accuracy of about a millimeter or so. An image of the patient’s jaw and tooth structures is created within seconds by a CT and with some systems, can include digital impression data. This technology is likened to GPS and allows periodontists and oral surgeons to fully visualize the patient’s mouth and the instrument in their hand in real-time. Dental implant navigation systems allow periodontists to perform flapless surgeries and reduce the necessity of bone augmentation and custom abutments. Overall, these navigation systems enable dental professionals to provide less invasive, safer, and faster care.

A hard tissue graft is used to restore bone height and stimulate the growth of new bone in patients who have lost teeth. A bone graft should be done following tooth loss or extraction to prevent atrophy in the remaining bone and in the gum tissue surrounding it. Following a hard tissue graft, the patient may also require a gum graft. This process removes tissue from another part of the mouth then grafts it onto the existing tissue in the area requiring attention. There are several different options for this procedure and the one selected will depend on the tissue available within the patient’s mouth. The amount of gum pain that a patient may feel, as well as the nature of their gum tissue graft recovery, will vary from one individual to another. While there are not separate gum insurance options, many dental insurance plans will cover gum graft costs.

The structure of bone is an important consideration for the size, type, and surface of dental implants. Haversian canals are microscopic tubes or tunnels in cortical bone that house nerve fibers and a few capillaries. This allows bone to get oxygen and nutrition without being highly vascular. These canals also communicate with bone cells using special connections, or canaliculi. This connection facilitates the deposit and storage of mineral salts, which essentially gives bones their strength. Haversian canals are formed by lamellae, or concentric layers of bone, and are contained inside osteons. Osteons are cyndrylical structures that transport oxygenated blood to bone, and they are arranged parallel to the surface of the bone, along the long axis. Osteons that have intact Haversian canals comprise about 45% of cortical bone, or a little less than half. Haversian canals and osteons are part of the Haversian system, which allows nutrients to pass between the blood and bone.