Tag Archives: iCAT

The Wöhrle Dental Implant Clinic of Newport Beach California

Name of Practice/ Location

The Wöhrle Dental Implant Clinic delivers unprecedented patient care and convenience by offering all aspects of implant therapy in one cutting edge facility. While typical implant dentistry involves patients traveling back and forth between specialty and/or general practice offices, The Wöhrle Clinics are staffed by doctors encompassing skills in implant surgery, implant prosthodontics and implant laboratory technology. Additionally, the Wöhrle Dental Implant Clinic comprises a state-of-the-art office with CAT scanning and computer guided surgical technology onsite. Minimally invasive techniques, based on computer guided surgery, are routinely performed for better outcome and patient comfort.

Equipment & Technology

iCAT
The volumetric images obtained by the iCAT are high-resolution, three-dimensional views of the patient’s anatomy. In the Clinic, low radiation and fast turnover are extremely important for a routine application prior to any implant placement. From initial scan to discussing treatment options with the patient typically takes less than 2 minutes. At that point, I present the findings to the patient and present different treatment options with confidence. Critical information such as available osseous height and width, proximity to vital structures and adjacent teeth and potential need for grafting procedures are easily visualized by experienced users. In addition, the data collected will be used later for the virtual surgery within the NobelGuide software.

NobelGuide and Procera
Using NobelGuide enables me to diagnose and treatment plan every patient in a most efficient and predictable way. Once diagnostic appliances have been fabricated, the CAT-scan is used to place the implants in a virtual environment. Based on this information, a surgical template is fabricated, which transfers the virtual planning exactly to the patient’s anatomy, and implants can be delivered precisely, when indicated in a flapless approach. Simultaneously, interims restorations can be prefabricated and placed at the time of implant installation.

Once soft- and hard tissue remodeling has occurred, final impressions are taken. Restorations are completed using the Procera system, in either zirconia, alumina, or titanium, depending upon the patient’s needs and desires. Studies have shown that the marginal fit and strength of these restorations is superior to anything else on the market; in addition, the aesthetic outcome satisfies even the most critical patient.

Mac practice / Apple Computers
I have been a Mac aficionado since the introduction of the first Apple Macintosh. In a dental practice, it was hard to incorporate the Mac as most of the software was designed to run on PCs. We had a split system, PC for office administrative aspects, Macs for patient education, slide collection and organization, and for the preparation of lectures. Of course, any videos we took were handled on the Mac side as well. Then we switched our office administration software to MacPrcatice DDS, which was developed specifically for Mac OS X. Since then, we have eliminated most of our PCs, and most of the problems have gone away along with the PCs. All operatories, surgical suites, the treatment plan room, the front and back offices, all have their own Apple computers, and all share the same network. The support we receive from MacPrcatice is outstanding, and new developments keep on coming, like the iPhone interface, allowing me to check either the schedule, patient records or anything else that is documented in the system from any place in the world. The biggest advantage of using this system is the user friendliness that Macs are known for. With minimal training, motivated staff members can learn the intricacies of the system within a very short time.

Binocular Loupes
Magnification in dentistry is an absolute must – the first step in quality control. Since the beginning of my training in dentistry I am used to work with magnification, either at the bench or in the operatory. The right combination of comfortable glasses with adequate magnification and depth of field is hard to find among the many manufacturers. In addition, a headlight is needed in most cases where direct overhead light is either blocked or not in the same long axis. Using the most advanced combination of loupes and headlight, the Heine 3S unplugged, has made it easier for me to routinely see better, and thus being able to deliver better quality of care to my patients, all without any cable hanging off my back.

Via EPR Network
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