[Treatment and subsequent care of oral implants for care-dependent patients]

Care-dependent people may experience problems with their dentures for which treatment with an implant-supported denture is an effective option. Furthermore, patients treated with an implant-supported denture previously, may have become dependent on care, with the result that their daily oral self-care becomes problematic. These conditions demand an individual approach. In the process of deciding about treatment, the dentist has to ask himself 6 questions. The questions have to do with the benefits and effectiveness of any treatment, the individual oral healthcare programme, the cooperative abilities of the patient, the availability of voluntary and/or professional care providers, and the accessibility of good and quick professional oral healthcare service. Depending on the outcome of these considerations, the treatment may be either removing the superstructure and 'burying' the implants, improving an existing implant-supported denture or inserting implants and fabricating a new implant-supported denture.