The biomechanical principles of restoring a dentition with dental implants: A General Dental Practitioner's perspective.

Dental implants continue to increase in popularity as a method of replacing missing or failing teeth and, in doing so, this increased prevalence is likely to present as a range of scenarios for the general dental practitioner and dental hygienist, whether they have an interest in the field or not. Many of these scenarios will relate to the restorative and post-treatment phases of treatment, where the biomechanical performance of the restoration will need to be understood by the treating clinician in the primary care setting. This article aims to highlight the unique biomechanical nature of dental implant restorations, the differences between a natural tooth held by periodontal ligament fibres and a dental implant ankylosed to bone, the consideration of restoring a natural tooth opposing a dental implant, and the long-term effect of changes in the occlusion and their impact on previously placed dental implant restorations.