The key to success: maintaining the long-term health of implants.

During the infancy years of dental implantology, the emphasis for long-term success of osseointegrated implants was the surgical phase of dental implantology. In the years that followed, the emphasis for success had switched from a purely surgical influence to focusing more on the proper fixture placement which would be dictated by the prosthetic and aesthetic needs of each particular case. In more recent years, the dental profession has recognized professional implant maintenance and diligent patient home care as two critical factors for the long-term success of dental implants. The microbiota and clinical presentation of peri-implantitis is the same as periodontitis around a natural tooth.