Unity-Driven Augmented Reality for Interactive Dental Implant Simulation
摘要
Precise dental implant placement is important to avoid damage to sensitive areas like the oral cavity floor, mental foramen, and inferior alveolar nerve. It also ensures proper fitting and long-term success of the prosthetic. However, conventional tools like 2D radiographs, CBCT slices, and static surgical guides do not provide real-time depth and cannot adjust to patient movement during surgery. This increases the chances of errors such as misalignment or nerve damage. To solve these problems, we propose a real-time augmented reality (AR) assistant developed in Unity 3D using AR Foundation. This system overlays 3D models of the patient’s jaw, teeth, and nearby tissues onto the surgical field using head-mounted displays or tablets. It allows doctors to see and interact with layered anatomical details, including bones, nerves, and blood vessels. The system also supports virtual implant simulation, where users can adjust implant size, angle, and depth. Safety alerts warn users when an implant is too close to sensitive areas. The system will be tested on custom 3D-printed jaw models and compared with precise reference points.