Implant therapy has, without question, been one of the most significant advancements in dental care during the latter quarter of this century. Presently, in 1998, it can be considered a usual and customary procedure that has benefited hundreds of thousands of people who either (a) had no prior opportunity to enjoy a new, solid, dentition or (b) needed limited replacement of teeth, and chose not to have any of their remaining natural "ground down" for bridgework.