Since the introduction of osseointegration into clinical dentistry, conventional healing times for dental implants before prosthodontic loading have been accepted as being 3-6 months from the time of implant placement.

In more recent years, early and immediate loading of implants have more and more become part of clinical practice. This lecture aims at providing the scientific and clinical evidence for the predictability and usefulness of these newer treatment protocols in different edentulous and partially edentulous indications.