Etiology of implant complications: anecdotal reports vs prospective clinical trials.

The dental profession has in the past overreacted to anecdotal reports of both positive and negative outcomes involving implants. Because implant complications usually involve multiple variables, it is necessary to isolate these variables as much as possible when structuring a study to assess implant success vs failure. The methodology used in a study of Omniloc implants is reported, including detailed criteria for patient exclusion, patient demographics, statistical method, measurement indices, control procedures, and success criteria.