CHARACTERISTICS OF 5410 EDENTULOUS IMPLANT CANDIDATES AND THE TREATMENT THEY RECEIVE

Since 1989 implant dentistry in the Netherlands is a National Dental I nsurance (NDI) benefit, thus reducing out-of-pocket expenditures for i mplant candidates considerably. A nationwide investigation was set up in order to evaluate quantitative, qualitative and financial effects o f this new provision. The patient and treatment characteristics of 541 0 edentulous implant candidates are discussed. Intensive monitoring of the usage of these new regulations facilitates health care policy mak ing, including future planning. Over a 3 1/2 yr period, two out of eve ry thousand totally edentulous NDI patients were treated in combinatio n with dental implants. This number is being considered small, bearing in mind the number of edentulous patients in the Netherlands and the proportion of dissatisfied denture wearers. Demographic data, prosthet ic and pre-prosthetic surgical history reveal that these patients, mos tly female and middle-aged, experience severe denture-related problems . In the majority of cases the implants are placed by an oral surgeon and the suprastructure is made by a general dentist or at a centre for special dental care. The treatment itself mostly consists of an impla nt retained overdenture on two or four permucosal implants and a bar-c onstruction.