Preoperative radiological planning for oral implants

For patients who lost one or more teeth, oral osseointegrating implants can offer a natural and solid solution. In order to rehabilitate (partially) edentulous patients with oral implants, a surgical intervention is inevitable. It is therefore of utmost importance that both esthetical and biomechanical demands are met in as few interventions and as little time as possible, which makes a thorough preoperative examination of the edentulous region mandatory. Radiographs of different kinds offer the possibility to evaluate bone volume and--to a lesser extent--quality of the area to be rehabilitated. It should however be kept in mind that radiography necessarily brings about a certain amount of possible detrimental radiation burden. Selection of the appropriate radiographic technique should therefore be based on a well thought-out balance between diagnostic value and risk level of the intervention on the one hand and radiation burden on the other.