We review and adapt modern survival analysis adapted for evaluating the success of dental implants is reviewed. A defined composite success criterion is a valuable tool for assessing new developments of dental implants. However, several inaccuracies are detected in the relevant dental literature. The Kaplan-Meier estimator is distinguished from ad-hoc life table methods and crude cumulative percentages, and generally, the usage of confidence intervals is emphasized. This article reviews the definition of implant success also. For the example of longitudinal measurements of the peri-implant bone level, it is shown how to derive success probabilities by time-to-event analysis. It is concluded that advanced statistical methods and well-defined endpoints are needed to achieve meaningful and comparable results. The article is illustrated using the data of a familiar implant system (TPS-SteriOss®).
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