Dental Implant Diagnostics
Dr. Chal is dedicated to the highest quality of work for you. And doing world class implant dentistry requires careful diagnosis and planning.
Many people aren't aware of the high level of skill required to place beautiful, long-lasting dental implants, and there is much sub-standard work being performed around the country. Implant dentistry is one of the most lucrative areas of dentistry for personal injury lawyers. Often, the unfortunate outcome was the result of inadequate diagnosis and treatment planning. Read some of the dental implant horror stories to see illustrations of these problems.
For example, most implant dentists will order a panographic x-ray prior to implant surgery. A few quality-oriented dentists will order a CT scan to provide a three-dimensional view of the jaw bones. But few radiologists are really familiar with the needs of the implant dentist, resulting in CT scans of minimal utility. Dr. Chal, however, has his CT scans read by a radiologist who specializes in dental radiology, so that the resulting scan is fully diagnostic. Oral and Maxillofacial Radiologist
Dr. David Hatcher is, like Dr. Chal, renowned for his work, and has lectured with Dr. Chal internationally on
this subject.
We have some sample radiographs below to show what high quality diagnostics can mean to you as a patient.
Here is a panographic x-ray of a patient presenting for dental implant treatment. This is the most common radiograph ordered by implant surgeons. While it shows the condition of the teeth and imparts some useful information, its lack of three-dimensional information can lead to poor implant placement.
Also, it is lacking in clarity. Notice the critical piece of information picked up in a CT scan of the same patient, pictured below. |
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 In this finely tuned CT scan, the settings have been adjusted to provide the maximum diagnostic information. Notice the grayish three-mounded mass that is present in the sinus cavity on our right (outlined with red arrow). This is pathology that can have a significant impact on this patient and should be treated. It
is not readily apparent in the panographic x-ray at the top of this page and may have been missed with poor quality diagnostics.
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But all CT scans are not created equal. Dr. Chal uses a radiologist who specializes in dental radiology to guide the process and to interpret the CT scans. And they produce multiple scans, so that the case can be carefully planned. Here is a sampling of the scan printouts for one patient. |
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The success of your treatment depends upon skillful and accurate implant placement. And proper implant placement depends upon thorough and careful diagnostics.
Dr. Chal will routinely review thirty to forty pages of CT scans on each patient. The 3-D CT scans take less than three minutes and radiation exposure to the patient is very small--less than 3% of the radiation received during a medical CT scan. The computer then provides extensive information, including one-millimeter cross-sections of the jaws showing the exact locations of blood vessels and nerves in the bone. This extensive analysis greatly reduces the risk of dental implant surgery.
Click here to see the outcome of the case illustrated above.
The CT scans are also used to create the Chal-Hatcher Guide™, which was developed by Dr. Chal and Dr. Hatcher. |
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