The relationship between biologic concepts and fabrication of surgical guides for dental implant placement.

This article reviews guidelines for construction of surgical guides to direct dental implant placement. Biologic principles are discussed with regard to the mesiodistal, buccolingual, and apicocoronal insertion of implants. The application of these data to develop surgical guides is discussed. Also, with respect to specific prosthetic reconstructions, a variety of guides are described that can be fabricated for partially and fully edentulous arches.