1. Intro to CHROME
Freehand vs Guided Surgery – Why Guided Surgery?
Guided Surgery vs Freehand Surgery
CHROME generates $1,000 more per hour compared to freehand surgery
The business/financial decision on whether to conduct freehand or guided surgery is often focused solely on the material cost of the surgery. This is not a comprehensive overview of the true cost, as it does not take into account the high-cost variable of time!
The table below provides a model to better understand the complete costs associated with a full-arch surgery – time and materials. This model only considers the doctor’s hourly rate (established at $400 per hour) and not the cost of staff and operatory use.
The freehand costs and times were averaged from the feedback gathered from 18 full arch specialists.
| Freehand Surgery | CHROME GuidedSMILE | ||||
| APPOINTMENT ANALYSIS | Hourly Rate (per hr) | Hrs Taken | Total | Hrs Taken | Total |
| First Consult (CBCT, X-ray, Photos) | $400 | 1 | $400 | 2 | $800 |
| Treatment Plan | $400 | 2 | $800 | 0.5 | $200 |
| Present Treatment Plan to Patient | $400 | 0.5 | $200 | 0.5 | $200 |
| Surgery Day | $400 | 3 | $1,200 | 2.5 | $1,000 |
| Post-Surgery Equilibration | $400 | 1.0 | $400 | 0.5 | $200 |
| Temp Adjusted (Soft Tissue) | $400 | 0.5 | $200 | 0.25 | $100 |
| Transition steps to final prosthesis | $400 | 6.5 | $2,600 | 2 | $800 |
| Total Cost | 14.5 hrs | $5,800 | 8.25 hrs | $3,300 |
A guided surgical approach should 1) reduce the overall number of appointments from 7 to 5, and 2) the overall appointment hours by up to 66%+. The biggest differences between freehand vs guided times are in relation to:
- Premade Temp Prosthesis – CHROME’s surgical accuracy means the team can convert the prosthesis with far less work.
- Transition steps to final prosthesis – CHROME offers a simplified approach to ordering the final.
Taking a guided surgical approach diminishes the majority of the time and clinical implications of unforeseen surgical complications while delivering a superior restorative outcome.
| Freehand Surgery | CHROME GuidedSMILE | |
| Prelimary Records | X | X |
| Surgery | X | X |
| Impressions | X | |
| Fit Verification Jig | X | |
| Try-in | X | |
| Reset | X | |
| iJIG or Rapid | X | |
| Printed Try-in | X | |
| Finish | X | X |
| Total | 7 | 5 |
| Freehand Surgery | CHROME GuidedSMILE | ||||
| MATERIAL/SURGERY ANALYSIS | Cost per item | Amount | Total | Amount | Total |
| Implants | $200 | 4 | $800 | 4 | $800 |
| Abutment (avg) | $120 | 4 | $480 | 4 | $480 |
| Titanium Cylinders | $35 | 8 | $280 | 8 | $280 |
| ROE Lab Tech Cost | $1,000 | 0 | |||
| Immediate Conversion Denture & Abutment Guide | $495 | 0 | |||
| Final Zirconia Prosthesis | $3,800 | 0 | |||
| CHROME Complete Package | N/A | $6,100 | |||
| Total Cost | $6,855 | $7,660 |
CHROME is slightly more expensive than doing the surgery freehand. This slight increase in cost helps guarantee a predictable, efficient surgery. The CHROME Complete package contains all of the surgical guides plus the immediate load prosthesis, a RAPID applicant, and the final prosthesis on healing has been completed.
| Freehand Surgery | CHROME GuidedSMILE | |||
| COST COMPARISON ANALYSIS | Hours | Cost | Hours | Cost |
| Total Appointment and Material/Equipment Cost | 14.5 | $12,655 | 8.25 | $10,960 |
| Patient Price | $30,000 | $30,000 | ||
| True Profit | $17,345 | $19,040 | ||
| Profit Earned per Hour | $1,196 | $2,308 |
Comprehensive Cost Comparison
- Typically patients are charged $2-3K more for guided full arch surgery. This was purposefully NOT taken into account in this model in order to make the results more comparable.
- Overall the complete doctor journey is 40% quicker with CHROME GuidedSMILE vs freehand surgery.
- CHROME GuidedSMILE surgery allows doctors to make more than an additional $1,000 per hour vs freehand surgery.