title: Treatment of the edentulous patient.
abstract: For decades the edentulous population has been unrecognized in its need to be treated in an effective manner. The debilitating condition affects quality of life. Implants have provided a strategy for developing a standard of care. The McGill consensus statement provided evidence that 2 implants supporting a mandibular overdenture should be the first choice in the treatment of edentulism. Success in implementing this standard of care into an institution's curriculum depends on a close collaboration between the surgeon and the restoring dentist and an understanding of biomechanics and bone biology.
authors.affiliation: Division of Prosthodontics, Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, 630 West 168th Street, PH 7 East 115, New York, NY 10032, USA. Electronic address: gsw3@cumc.columbia.edu.
authors.forename: George Shelby
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: White
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D003757:Dental Implantation; D017266:Dental Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D007575:Jaw, Edentulous / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011788:Quality of Life
keywords: Edentulism; Edentulous population; Implants; Overdentures; Quality of life