Aim:

To describe in a clinical case a new virtual planning technique for locating and removing a fractured dental anesthetic needle.

Clinical case:

A 52-year-old patient visited the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery I (School of Dentistry, University of Buenos Aires) with a retained dental needle in the pterygomandibular space. The needle had fractured during inferior alveolar nerve block two months previously. Virtual diagnosis and planning were performed to locate the needle and a stereolithographic model and a customized surgical guide were prepared. The use of customized surgical guides prepared by virtual planning enabled precise location of the dental needle in deep spaces and reduced operating times.