Surgical Guide Design — Accurate CAD Planning for Implant Surgery
- Delivery time
- 1 – 3 days
- Revisions
- Unlimited
- Software
- RealGUIDE
- Delivers
- Project files
DM Dental Design provides remote CAD design for surgical guides, supporting clinics and laboratories involved in digital implant planning and guided surgery. A guide has one job: to put the implant exactly where the plan says it should go.
On request we also handle the implant planning itself, as well as tooth-supported guide variants.
What we focus on in every surgical guides case
Implant positioning. Placement driven by the final restoration.
Angulation and depth. Controlled by sleeve position and offset.
Guide stability. Support surfaces chosen for a firm, single seat.
Access. Clear irrigation and visibility during drilling.
Our step-by-step process
- 1
Submit your scanned case files and instructions.
- 2
We produce the digital design and send it for review.
- 3
After approval we deliver the final files.
- 4
You receive the project files — ready for production.
How surgical guide design works
A guide is only as good as the alignment behind it. The CBCT DICOM volume and the surface scan are superimposed on shared reference points — teeth, a radiographic marker, or scan bodies — and the match is verified slice by slice before any planning starts. An alignment error of a fraction of a millimetre at this stage becomes an angulation error at the apex.
Implant positions are then planned restoratively: the crown is placed first, and the implant follows the emergence it needs, within the bone that is actually available. Bone density, nerve canal, sinus floor and adjacent roots are all checked in the same view.
The guide body is designed around the sleeve system and drill kit you use, with the offset height matched to your kit's specification. Support surfaces are chosen for a firm single seat — tooth-supported where teeth allow it, mucosa- or bone-supported with fixation pins where they do not — and inspection windows are added so seating can be confirmed clinically.
Cases we design most often
- Single and multiple implant guides, tooth-supported
- Fully edentulous guides with fixation pins
- Pilot-only guides and fully guided protocols
- Implant planning on request, when only the CBCT and scan are supplied
What we need to align the case
- CBCT export as DICOM (not a screenshot or a compressed viewer file)
- Surface scan of the arch, plus the antagonist where occlusion matters
- Implant system, diameter, length and the guided kit you will use
Surgical Guides design — frequently asked questions
- Do you need CBCT data?
- Yes. We merge the CBCT DICOM data with your intraoral or model scan so implant position, angulation and depth follow the plan.
- Can you do the implant planning too?
- On request we plan the implant positions as well, and we design tooth-supported, mucosa-supported and bone-supported guide variants.
- Do you support my implant system?
- Tell us the implant system and guided kit you use, and the sleeve seats and offsets are built to that kit's specification.
- How long does surgical guide design take?
- Routine cases are designed overnight. Complex or large cases can take longer, and we tell you the expected time when we confirm the case.
- How many revisions are included?
- Revisions are unlimited. We keep adjusting the design until it matches your prescription and is ready for production.
- Which software do you use, and what do I receive?
- We design in RealGUIDE and deliver the project files, ready to send straight to your mill or printer.
Other design services
Fast, precise and customized results
E-mail your STL files to info@dmdentaldesign.com and get your design ready. First case? Tell us the indication and we'll confirm turnaround before we start.