Becoming edentulous is also a bad social stigma. Implants can impart on patients the well being of having regained their lost teeth. Patients often regard implants as part of their own bodies. Before carrying out the treatment, each potential implant patient has to be carefully evaluated. A proper patient's evaluation should consist of a thorough patient's interview, clinical examination, diagnostic imaging with ordinary X-ray techniques or special techniques such as CT scanning, taking of study models and clinical photographs of the relevant oral structures.
Implant treatment consists of the surgical and prosthetic phases of treatment.
The surgical phase involves the placement of implants in the jaw bone whereas the prosthetic phase, the fabrication of the implant supported prosthesis. The surgical phase of treatment is analogous to the piling phase in the construction of a building and the prosthetic phase the construction of the superstructure of the building. A healing period of four to six months is allowed for bone to fuse with the implant. With modern day implant technology, the success rate of implant treatment is very high. Implant treatment is no longer regarded as experimental and it is widely accepted in western countries.