What is a fool proof way to “judge” the hardness of the bone, or a better question is what are the different ways to make that judgment… I know the classifications, my point in asking is make that judgement before you start torquing the implant in not after realizing it’s not going to in all the way and backing it out.

I find that it is a qualitative judgement when you are actually doing the drilling. It comes down to the resistance you feel against the drills when you are prepping.

How can we try to quantify this…One predictable way is to use a tap. If you are in dense bone (dont know if it’s super dense or just plain ol dense bone) you can just opt to use a bone tap every time. If the bone tap goes in all the way, they you know that the implant will also go in all the way. Because they are the same dimension. Aside from that, sorry man, its just a qualitative judgement based on experience. I know it sucks to have to back out an implant. But it’s also not that big of a deal. Just set it aside and give it one more go with the drill

I wouldn’t say there really is a “fool proof” way of knowing. You will definitely get there with time when you’ve done a few on both of maxilla and mandible.

When bone is really really soft— you almost have to put no pressure or a small amount of pressure to drill your osteotomy. Comparably when the bone is much harder you will feel like you have to put more pressure even with a fresh drill.

It just comes with time!