James Chow: Implant placement using the flapless surgical approach

Dental implants can be placed with flap or with a flapless procedure. Supported by clinical examples and systematic literature review and analysis, Dr Chow gives insight in flapless procedures, their benefits and how to overcome challenges. Flapless surgery is effective in both healed and extraction sites, and is a minimal invasive protocol with short treatment time. Pain, bleeding and swelling are minimal, no suturing is required, however the clinician is not able to see the bone morphology and therefore there is the risk of bone perforation during the ostetomy. Dr Chow explains, how practically this challenge can be solved by visualizing the bone morphology with advanced imaging techniques, with stereolithographic 3D models, with computer based anatomical simulations, and with assistance of guided surgery protocols. Literature shows that guided surgery protocols have high success rates however there remains room for improvement, as there can be significant deviations between planned and actual implant position.