A question which is often asked by solicitors of experts is whether an implant is a viable option for a missing tooth, and if it is, then how long will the implant last. Many experts feel that implants will last a lifetime. In fact, if we look 10 to 15 years ago, they expected a 90% success rate in the region of 10 to 15 years. However more recently, one of the modes of failure that has been recognised is a disease process called peri-mucositis and peri-implantitis. This is similar to periodontal disease (periodontitis) in a natural dentition. It is estimated that at 10 years, 1 in 5 patients with implants will have peri-implantitis with bone loss. So rather than quoting success rates, I think it is better to quote survival rates. The answer of course is that there is no true answer and so as always, it is down to interpretation of literature and guess work. I now quote a 15 to 20 year average replacement cycle which to date has not been challenged.
