Paired templates for placing dental implants and enhancing registration for denture prosthetics attached to the implants

A method of placing implants in a patient's jawbone and securing a denture thereto, comprising:

• providing a denture configured for a completely or partially edentulous patient;
• imaging the patient's mouth and the denture with a three-dimensional (3D) imaging modality to generate a 3D image of the patient's jawbone and of the denture;
• processing the 3D image with a computer configured to generate a 3D virtual model of:
• a. implant placement that conforms to selected rules regarding bone dimensions and implant location for supporting the denture;
• b. a paired surgical implant template configured for the implant placement;
• c. a paired prosthetic template conforming to an occlusal side of the denture and having guide holes that conform to the implant placement and to the denture;
• and
• d. the denture and connection holes through the denture that conform both to the implant placement and to selected rules regarding clearance from denture elements;
• fabricating an actual surgical template based on said 3D virtual model of the paired surgical implant template and a separate actual prosthetic template based on said 3D virtual model of the paired prosthetic template;
• forming osteotomies in the patient's jawbone using the actual surgical template, securing implants in said osteotomies, and forming connection holes in the denture through the guide holes in the actual prosthetic template conforming to the connection holes in the 3D virtual model of the denture;
• and
• securing the denture to the implants by inserting attachment elements into the connection holes of the denture.