Surgical guides
Outsource your surgical guide design
Send a CBCT (DICOM) and an intraoral scan (STL) and receive a print-ready surgical guide — tooth-borne, bone-borne, or mucosa-borne — in 24–48 hours. Every guide is planned restoratively (final teeth first) and reviewed by me personally in Blue Sky Plan. Pay after you approve; I revise until it seats.
Who designs my surgical guide from a CBCT scan?
I do — personally. You are not sending your case into a CAD farm or a queue of anonymous technicians. One named clinician-designer plans, builds, and reviews every guide.
The plan starts from the final restoration and works backward to implant position, so the guide serves the prosthetics — not the other way around. Planning happens in Blue Sky Plan; the guide is designed and exported print-ready for your printer.
You approve the plan before anything is finalised. If a sleeve position, offset, or seating surface is not right, I revise it until it is. You pay after you approve.
Why guided
Guided placement is measurably more accurate
Guided placement deviates ~0.4–0.5 mm at the coronal and apical points versus ~1.3 mm freehand, with angular deviation of ~0.8° versus ~6° freehand.
Source: umbrella review, ScienceDirect; RCT, PubMed 37454788.
| Metric | Freehand | Guided |
|---|---|---|
| Coronal deviation | ~1.3 mm | ~0.4–0.5 mm |
| Angular deviation | ~6° | ~0.8° |
| Prosthetic control | Low | High |
Tooth-borne vs bone-borne vs mucosa-borne — which do I need?
The support surface depends on how many teeth remain and whether a flap is planned. I recommend the type that seats most predictably for your case.
Tooth-borne
Partially edentulous cases with stable adjacent teeth. The guide seats on remaining dentition — the most accurate and easiest to verify at surgery.
Mucosa-borne
Fully edentulous arches placed flapless. The guide rests on soft tissue and is stabilised with fixation pins for full-arch and immediate-load work.
Bone-borne
Cases with a raised flap where the guide seats directly on bone. Used when tissue or tooth support is insufficient for a reliable fit.
What files do you need (DICOM + STL)?
Two inputs cover most cases. Send the raw exports — I handle the alignment, segmentation, and merge.
CBCT — DICOM
The full DICOM export from your CBCT, not a rendered screenshot. This gives bone volume, nerve position, and anatomy for safe implant planning.
Intraoral scan — STL
An STL from your intraoral scanner (Medit or similar). This drives the restorative design and the exact seating surface of the guide.
Add a bite scan, a wax-up, or a shade note if you have one. If something is missing or unusable, I tell you before starting — not after.
How fast is turnaround?
Standard turnaround is 24–48 hours from complete files to an approved, print-ready guide. A 24-hour rush is available when a case is booked.
You review the plan first. Nothing is finalised until you approve it, and revisions are included until the guide is clinically right.
Do you work with my implant system?
Yes. I design against your implant system and its guided kit — I am not tied to a single brand.
Tell me the system, the guided surgery kit, and the sleeve or keyless protocol you use, and the guide is built to match those tolerances and drill offsets.
FAQ
Surgical guide questions
Which planning software do you use?
Blue Sky Plan for implant planning and guide design, with exocad for the restoratively driven set-up when a case needs it. Every plan is reviewed by me before you see it.
What if the guide does not seat?
I revise it until it does. The seating surface comes from your STL, and I check it against the plan before export. Revisions are included — you pay after you approve.
Do you print the guide too?
I deliver a print-ready file exported for your printer and resin. If you prefer, I set it up for your lab or print partner so it drops straight into their workflow.
Can you plan full-arch and immediate loading?
Yes. Full-arch and All-on-X cases are planned restoratively with a mucosa-borne guide and fixation pins, and I can prepare the immediate-load design alongside the guide.
Send a case and see it planned
Upload your CBCT and intraoral scan and get a restoratively driven, print-ready surgical guide in 24–48 hours. Planned and reviewed by me. Pay after you approve.
Updated Jul 2026