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. 2025 Jul 22;13(8):333.
doi: 10.3390/dj13080333.

Digitally-Driven Surgical Guide for Alveoloplasty Prior to Immediate Denture Placement

Zaid Badr  1 , Jonah Jaworski  1 , Sofia D'Acquisto  2 , Manal Hamdan  3
Affiliations

Digitally-Driven Surgical Guide for Alveoloplasty Prior to Immediate Denture Placement

Zaid Badr et al. Dent J (Basel). .

Abstract

Objective: This article presents a step-by-step digital technique for fabricating a 3D-printed surgical guide to assist in alveoloplasty for immediate denture placement. Methods: The workflow integrates intraoral scanning, virtual tooth extraction, digital soft tissue modeling, and additive manufacturing to produce a customized guide with an occlusal window and buccal slot, along with a verification stent. Results: This method ensures precise ridge recontouring and verification, enhancing surgical predictability and prosthetic fit. Conclusions: Unlike traditional surgical guides based on conventional casts or manual fabrication, this fully digital approach offers a practical and replicable protocol that bridges digital planning and clinical execution. By improving surgical precision, reducing operative time, and ensuring optimal denture fit, this technique represents a significant advancement in guided pre-prosthetic surgery.

Keywords: additive manufacturing; alveoloplasty; immediate denture; surgical guide.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pre-operative maxillary and mandibular digital impressions imported into 3Shaped Dental Manager.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Using the Tooth Removal Tool: (a) the tooth to be virtually extracted is selected; (b) the tooth is virtually extracted after selection.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The virtual alveolopasty procedure using the Wax Knife tool to remove the undercuts and irregular ridge contours: (a) frontal view; (b) lateral view.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The immediate denture is designed based on the new maxillary arch contours.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The denture base of the immediate denture design is segmented and exported in STL format.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The denture base of the immediate denture design is used to design the surgical guide using Autodesk Meshmixer. The surgical guide is designed with a buccal cut and occlusal slot.
Figure 7
Figure 7
3D-printed surgical guide: (a) before adjustment, the flexibility of the selected material allows for the insertion of the guide underneath the undercut; (b) after adjustment, the width of the anterior slot is used to verify adequate buccal ridge augmentation.
Figure 8
Figure 8
A 3D-printed verification stent is used to verify the proper ridge contours.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Flowchart summarizing the digital workflow for designing and fabricating the surgical guide and verification stent.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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