Methods and apparatus for dental implantation

A method for implanting a tooth implant in an at least partially edentulous patient comprising the steps of:

• anchoring at least one attachment element in the at least partially edentulous patient's jaw bone;
• removably and replaceably mounting a carrier assembly bearing at least one fiducial marker onto said at least one attachment element in a precisely repeatable position with respect to said at least partially edentulous patient's jaw bone,
• the at least one attachment element comprising at least three jaw bone fasteners distributed at positions on a plane such that whenever the carrier assembly bearing the at least one fiducial marker is remounted onto said at least one attachment element, the carrier assembly is prevented from rotating outside of the plane and the at least one fiducial marker regains a same spatial position relative to the at least partially edentulous patient's jaw bone
• the carrier assembly thereby being removable and replaceable into the precisely repeatable position without having to remove the at least one attachment element from the at least partially edentulous patient's jaw bone,
• providing in the carrier assembly a carrier mount that has a mounting portion, the mounting portion configured to allow the carrier assembly to securely and removably connect to the at least three jaw bone fasteners without blocking the implanting of the tooth implant, the mounting portion connected to a tracking device external to the mouth of the patient, the mounting portion including a mounting element running parallel to the jaw bone of the at least partially edentulous patient;
• employing said carrier for providing registration between said at least one fiducial marker and said at least partially edentulous patient's jaw bone;
• and
• implanting said tooth implant in said at least partially edentulous patient by employing a tracking system which uses said registration to guide a drilling assembly.