Is a Fully Digital Dental Implant Treatment Solution a Real Possibility in 2020

Digital implant workflows are facilitating new and more accurate methods of implant treatment planning when compared to conventional analog techniques. The placement of implants using guided surgery presents multiple benefits for immediately restoring a patient functionally and esthetically with a provisional restoration. Although digital technology enables efficiency and enhanced accuracy for dental implant treatments, some cases may require the use of a hybrid workflow that employs both conventional and digital procedures, as some limitations to a fully digital approach exist depending on the clinical situation. This article presents several different implant treatment scenarios and discusses whether a fully digital workflow is possible and/or beneficial in each situation. The scenarios describe the full-treatment sequence for immediately loaded implants, allowing a direct comparison of various restorative and surgical implant workflows.