When dentists talk about the success and failure of implants, we often hear questions about where the implant was placed relative to "bone level." "Was the implant crestal, supercrestal, or subcrestal?" they might ask. However, this question can't be answered. Bone isn't level. Bone at an extraction socket curves from mesial to distal and from lingual to facial. It's rare that you'll find a socket that's anywhere close to level.

So why do many research papers and dentists around the world keep using "bone level" as a data point when examining implant success rates? Much of it probably has to do with the use of 2D radiographs instead of 3D scans. The bone might look level in 2D, but the scan reveals the truth. In this video, we'll break down all of this further and definitively show that bone level doesn't exist.

Yes, it's a bold claim, but it's true: in almost every case, the implant won't be completely at, above, or below the level of the implant–and so we shouldn't be basing our research on this flawed concept.