Radiographic Stent
A radiopaque guide appliance worn by the patient during pre-operative imaging to superimpose the planned prosthetic tooth positions onto CBCT or panoramic scans.
Full Definition
A radiographic stent is worn during diagnostic imaging and contains radiopaque markers—such as barium-impregnated acrylic or gutta-percha markers—placed at the planned prosthetic tooth positions. When the resulting scan is reviewed, the markers allow the clinician and laboratory to correlate bone anatomy with the intended restoration, guiding implant positioning decisions. The radiographic stent may later be converted into a surgical stent. Editors must not conflate it with a surgical stent, which is worn during the operation, not imaging. In digital workflows, dedicated radiographic templates may be designed in-software from CBCT data.
Usage
Usage note: Distinguish from 'surgical stent' in all editorial contexts; the two serve different procedural stages and conflation is a common error in clinical documentation.
In Context
- "The patient was fitted with a radiographic stent containing barium markers prior to CBCT acquisition." — Pre-operative planning note
- "The radiographic stent confirmed that adequate bone volume existed below the planned pontic positions." — Treatment planning report