In one aspect, a
dental implant initial surgical guide 501 defining at least one locator element guide aperture 503, 504 that is oriented for guiding advancement of a
drill towards a locator element socket location (601, 602, Fig 6) in the patient’s bone, from the lingual side (603, Fig 6) of the patient’s gum (604, Fig 6). In another aspect, a
dental implant surgical guide (701, Fig 7) defining at least one
implant guide aperture (703, Fig 7) therethrough for guiding advancement of a
drill towards an
implant socket location (1004, Fig 10) in the patient’s bone, from the occlusal side (606, Fig 6) of the patient’s gum. The
dental implant surgical guide (701, Fig 7) comprises at least one locator element (706, 707) for location within a respective locator element socket (1001, 1002, Fig 10) formed in the patient’s bone, from the lingual side of the patient’s gum. The dental
implant initial surgical guide 501 and dental implant surgical guide (701, Fig 7) may further be provided with corresponding fixing element guide apertures 506, 508 (708, 709, Fig 7).