Integrating a mouth opening assessment of virtual patients to prevent intraoperative challenges during treatment

Abstract

Template-guided implant surgery in the posterior region or zygomatic implant surgery using dynamic navigation systems is often hindered if a patient has limited mouth opening. To overcome the problem, the authors have proposed a novel digital protocol that integrates the use of a facial scan for the assessment of the maximal mouth opening of a virtual patient to assist in preoperative planning, thereby minimizing the likelihood of intraoperative obstruction of the surgical site. The proposed method is cost effective and can be easily used in clinical practice.