A practical guide to designing implant-supported restorations in dental CAD software — from scan body recognition to final crown design.
Implant-supported restorations require a slightly different workflow compared to conventional crown and bridge. Understanding each step helps you deliver accurate, well-fitting restorations every time.
Step 1: Scan body recognition. The first step is identifying the correct scan body in your CAD software. Using the wrong scan body library will result in an incorrect implant position and a restoration that won't seat properly.
Step 2: Virtual implant placement. Once the scan body is recognized, the software calculates the implant position. Review this carefully — especially the emergence profile — before proceeding.
Step 3: Design the emergence profile. A well-designed emergence profile supports the peri-implant tissue and contributes to long-term aesthetic and biological success.
Step 4: Crown morphology and occlusion. Design the crown as you would for a conventional restoration, but pay extra attention to screw access channel placement for screw-retained cases.
Step 5: Export and verify. Export in the correct format for your milling machine and always do a final check on the STL file for any mesh errors before sending to production.
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